For What You Need
by TheologyDiscography
Summary: Harry offers to do anything if Draco would help him. There's only one thing Draco wants. . . . mature content. CURRENTLY ON HIATUS, BECAUSE I'M HAVING WRITER'S BLOCK ON THIS STORY. SORRY FOLKS!
1. Chapter 1

i have no clue where this came from, nor where it's going. i have enough for one, maybe two more chapters: if you want me to contenue it, let me know, because otherwise, i'm not going to bother. and i'm going to need help with a plot is it's contenued, because this isn't normally what i wrote, it was just a little plot-bunny that wouldn't leave me alone.

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He lay on his stomach, slightly tilted onto his side, one knee drawn up, exposing himself to the blonde who silently entered the room through the shadowed door opposite the bed. His arms were wrapped loosely around the pillow that cradled his head, one hand wresting on the other wrist. He almost looked relaxed, but for the tenseness that he desperately tried to hide, and the fear in his quickly closed eyes.

A hand gently rested on his bare shoulder, and Harry barely restrained himself from flinching away from it. It was rather obvious to Draco that Harry expected him to just fuck him and not care if he enjoyed it or not. 'How wrong he is. I _enjoy_ pleasuring my partner.' The blonde quickly undressed before joining him on the bed, running a gentle hand down the raven-haired boy's back, causing the tense muscles to tighten further. He pursed his lips.

"Hmmmm. As much as I enjoy the sight of you waiting for me, you are far too tense." He murmured huskily, gently pushing the prone boy's leg down to join the other, turning him so he was less on his side before reaching up to languidly rub his shoulders, getting only further tenseness for his actions. "Gods Harry, are you really _that_ scared?" Gentle amusement filled his voice, replacing the harsher tones he usually used with the boy before him. This wasn't the time for his preferred harsh sarcasm.

Harry's hands convulsed into fists at his words, but his Gryffindor pride would not allow him to admit his fear to the one he had long considered his biggest rival, recent changes notwithstanding. They had almost become friends in the past few months, but their rivalry was still too recent for Harry to really trust Draco. But Draco was the only person that could help Harry in his self-appointed mission, so Harry was willing to do almost anything to convince him to help.

Draco said nothing more, but continued to gently rub his shoulders, patiently waiting for him to relax before moving on. He had known the night Harry had come to him for help that he was asking a lot, but he hadn't realized how much this frightened Harry. Though if he was honest with himself -which he tried to avoid- he had to admit that he probably wouldn't have changed his price if he had known. He had waited for too long to let this opportunity slip through his fingers. Besides, as far as he was concerned, Harry Potter was _any_ gay wizard's wet dream.

As Draco to massage his shoulders, Harry slowly relaxed into the gentle fingers that slowly started trailing down his back, wordlessly encouraging him to relax and just go with it. He sighed, letting the tension drain out of him, soothed away by gently fingers. When Harry shifted to pillow his temple against his crossed forearms, Draco softly turned the massaging strokes into gentle caresses. He slid his hands across Harry's smooth back, already growing hard from his delight in finally being able to touch this beautiful boy he had watched and daydreamed about for so long. He trailed his fingers down the length of his back, across his ass, and down the backs of his thighs, and Harry shivered slightly at his touch. He smiled as he ran his hands back up to Harry's shoulders. He feathered his fingers across his shoulder blades, relishing the slight twitches that Harry could not hold back. He trailed kisses down his spine, stopping when he reached the middle of his lower back, warned off by the sudden tensing of Harry's muscles. He trailed his way back up, and gently nibbled at the side of his neck when he reached it, delighting in the way the boy squirmed with pleasure.

Quickly but gently, he turned Harry over, moving to straddle over him before he could protest. He leaned down to gently press kisses into Harry's neck, smirking at the moan the other boy tried to repress. He slowly traced patterns across Harry's throat with his tongue, teasing his nipples with his thumbs at the same time. Harry's hands slowly came up and rested on his shoulders as he teased the boy, rolling his hips against Harry's, causing them both to gasp. Draco suppressed a satisfied smirk when he noticed that Harry was also hardening, despite his fear.

"Shhhh. Don't be frightened. I won't hurt you," he softly reassured between kisses. "You'll like it, I promise." He slowly trailed his fingers across Harry's chest, toying with his nipples, tracing the dark hair that dusted across his chest, pressing kisses into his soft skin.

Harry moaned softly as Draco gently nibbled on his earlobe, then kissed a trail up his jaw to his lips, pressing a slow, gentle kiss there, moving his lips unhurriedly across Harry's, waiting for a response. After several moments, which seemed like an eternity to Draco, Harry hesitantly moved his lips against Draco's, sliding his hands up to wind in the silver-blond hair at the base of his skull, fingers stroking against his neck.

Slowly, Draco pushed his tongue against the line between Harry's lips, sliding it across his mouth until Harry parted his lips, giving permission for Draco to enter his mouth. His hands tenderly cradled Harry's head, fingers tangled in the thick, black hair. He kissed Harry gently at first, trying not to scare him, but soon lost control, kissing him fiercely. His tongue danced against Harry's, across the roof of his mouth, everywhere; dizzying, intoxicating kisses that left them both breathless and panting. Harry slowly moved to mimic him, tongue hesitantly twining with Draco's, as though he's never been kissed like this before.

'He probably hasn't ever been properly kissed before," Draco thought hazily, most of his attention on the kiss. 'I, am a pro, and the Gryffendorks he's been with are definitely _not_.' He reluctantly pulled away, earning a small pout, and moved down to the base of his neck, nibbling and sucking at it, making Harry moan, and leaving a livid mark at the hollow of his throat. He'd make sure Harry wore an open-collared shirt tomorrow, so the world could see it, too. Not that he'd tell him _why_ of course. Harry never liked being on display, and would definitely balk at _Draco_ displaying him.

He moved downwards, leaving hickeys scattered across Harry's chest and stomach, the smooth muscles rippling as his lips found sensitive spots, Harry's hungry moans ringing triumphantly in his ears.

Pulling back, he stared at Harry, licking his lips hungrily. "You're so beautiful," he whispered, shifting off Harry to spread his legs, moving to kneel between them. "I've wanted you for so long, Harry. That's why I grabbed this chance when I saw it." Draco slid his hands down Harry's chest and stomach to rest on either side of his hips, sliding his thumbs back and forth, teasing gently.

He bent down and captured the head of Harry's stiff cock in his mouth, causing Harry to gasp with surprise at the unexpected move, then moan as he sucked gently, sliding his tongue around it slowly, licking at the tip before pulling the whole thing into his mouth, swallowing repeatedly when the head hit his gag reflex.

"Oh, god, Draco, that feels so good," Harry panted as Draco worked on him. Draco slid his lips up Harry's shaft again, momentarily releasing him.

"I know it does," he murmured; then took him back into his mouth, sliding up and down, trying to make this the best experience Harry'd had, and judging by the noises Harry was making, he was succeeding quite nicely. 'I don't believe he's ever had a blowjob before, either. God, he's innocent. I didn't realize he was that innocent. Heck, I didn't think it was _possible_ for a healthy teenage boy to be that innocent.'

"Oh, I'm-" was all Harry got out before he exploded in Draco's mouth. He swallowed Harry's offering silently, then slid up to kiss Harry again. Harry grimaced at the taste of himself still in Draco's mouth, but didn't complain.

"I told you you'd like it." Harry nodded dazedly, wrapping his arms around Draco, pulling him down beside him. Draco gave him a few minutes to recover, then pressed gently up against him so Harry could feel his erection pressing against his thigh. "Harry, please," he whispered into Harry's ear. Harry hesitated, then nodded slowly.

Draco smiled and kissed him again. "Relax. I won't hurt you. You'll like this too." He pulled away and retrieved the small bottle of oil from his pants pocket before moving back to kneel between Harry's thighs, stowing the bottle between his knees. He leaned forwards to kiss Harry, tracing the lines of his muscles with gentle fingers. Harry latched onto the kiss almost desperately, and he felt a twinge of guilt for pushing this when it scared Harry so much. But he knew the only way to get Harry over his fear to do it, and prove to him that he wouldn't be hurt by it. He slid one hand down to caress Harry's slowly awakening member, causing Harry to moan into the kiss. Draco took the opportunity to push into Harry's mouth, passionately stroking the sensitive places that he had found in previous kisses.

He slid slowly downwards, adding a couple more hickeys to Harry's growing collection, while opening the bottle and lightly coating one hand with the oil, trying to ensure Harry didn't notice, now that he'd finally relaxed. He took Harry's head into his mouth again, then pressed a finger gently to Harry's opening, pushing it in before Harry noticed it was there. He tensed a little, and then relaxed when it didn't hurt him. Draco prepared him as gently as possible, the sensations from Draco's mouth on his cock drowning any pain he might have felt. He pulled his mouth away and continued to flex his fingers inside Harry, using his other hand to smooth oil over his straining erection.

He pulled his hand away and gently pressed his cock into the empty space before Harry could react, sliding into the tight, warmly inviting depths of Harry's ass. He moaned with delight, pressing his face into Harry's neck so that it couldn't be heard.

"Oooohhhh," Harry sighed as Draco filled him. Now that it was happening, he couldn't see why he'd been afraid. Draco's movements set off reactions in places he couldn't name, spreading fiery pleasure through his whole body. He slid one hand up Draco's back, tangling his fingers into the long silver hair, and pulled Draco's head down for another passionate kiss, which Draco returned eagerly. His other hand slid across Draco's back and ass, gently exploring and caressing. As Draco's thrusts sped up, he pulled them as close together as he could, arching up slightly to meet his strokes. He couldn't believe how good it felt once he got used to the sensation of Draco's dick filling him.

Draco felt Harry shudder beneath him and knew that he wouldn't last much longer. He reached down to rub Harry's erection, and with a couple of strokes, Harry came with a cry, arching his back and pushing against Draco's mostly withdrawn member. The moment he came, Draco pushed as hard as he could against the tightening muscles, triggering his own orgasm. He collapsed onto Harry's chest and listened as his heart and breathing slowed to a more normal pace, his own slowly following suit.

Harry shifted, and Draco assumed that Harry was uncomfortable with their intimate positions. Gryffindor that Harry was, he probably didn't like the idea of having had sex with someone he didn't particularly like, certainly wasn't dating, and more than likely wasn't even considering dating. Harry made a small sound as Draco pulled out and cast a quick cleaning charm on both of them, then on the bed. He slid out of bed, and returned the bottle to his pants pocket, gathering his clothes and preparing to dress and leave.

"Where are you going?" Harry asked suddenly, confusion darkening his green eyes. Draco didn't answer, but dropped his clothes onto the floor and slid back into the bed beside him. Harry awkwardly pulled a blanket from the side of the bed, and Draco silently helped him spread it out. Harry sighed, pulling Draco close and kissing him softly once more before resting his head on his shoulder and falling asleep. Draco held him close, marveling that Harry had objected to his leaving. He supposed he should have realized that the Golden Boy wasn't someone you could just fuck and leave, though at first Harry had been giving all the signs saying that was how he'd wanted it to be. He wondered when the Boy Who Cuddled had changed his mind. Closing his eyes, he buried his face in Harry's hair, determined to savor the moment, before drifting off to sleep.

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**EDIT:** okay, since i've gotten several reviews telling me that you want more of this story, i shall write more. but i need help. i'm gonna put a couple of polls at the end of the next chapter, and i want everybody who reads it to at least answer the questions, even if you don't have any comments, questions, or suggestions. you ne help me write, you no get finished story; got it? I love you guys so much!


	2. Chapter 2

ok, back by popoular demand! remember people, i need help here! i'll have questions at the end of the chapter, and even if you don't have any comments on the story, please review and answer them! love you guys!

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still not mine. you know who's it is.

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Flashback

_Harry sat under a willow by the lake at Hogwarts. It was his favorite place to come and think, and he had found answers to many trying problems here. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't find any other way to solve his current problem. He sighed. He would have to approach the beautiful blonde Malfoy, and ask him for help. The problem with this was that Malfoy's help never came without a price, and he had the sinking feeling that he knew what the price would be._

_He stood and headed slowly back towards the castle. There was only a month of school left, and most of the school was inside, sensibly studying for the end of term tests that would come in the next few weeks. Surely that was where the blond was now._

_Since his father was thrown in jail, Draco had made his neutrality more obvious, though the only thing really keeping everybody from seeing it before was his constant fighting with Harry Potter. Anybody who fought that often with the Golden Boy just had to be one of Voldemort's followers. Yeah, right. Anyone who fought that often with Harry had to have strong opinions and an unwillingness to admit to being wrong. _

_The two boys had struck up an odd sort of friendship, though they still argued all the time. They were both comfortable with their verbal sparring, and now that the venom behind it was mostly gone, they both enjoyed picking at each other. Ron and Hermione rarely stayed around them, claiming they couldn't stand the constant fights, but Harry often thought it was because they couldn't put the past behind them, even though it was now obvious he only acted the way he had to keep from earning his father's wrath. Now that Lucius was in Azkaban, he was free to act how he pleased, and had not once insulted either of them, knowing they would not be as receptive to his sharp wit as Harry was._

"_Draco? Can I ask a favor of you?"_

"_I suppose it never hurts to ask," the blond replied cautiously, staring out the window at the pouring rain. Harry hesitantly sat down next to him on the window-seat. "Well, what is it?" _

"_I need you to help me find something. I'm not sure exactly what it is, or where it will be, but it's really important." Draco turned to face him, an unreadable expression in his eyes, his Malfoy mask barely covering his excitement._

"_You know my help always comes at a price." Harry nodded hesitantly. "What are you willing to give me?"_

"_What do you want?" Harry asked shakily, unnerved by the undecipherable look in Malfoy's eyes._

"_You know what I want. " His voice was husky, the breathy whisper barely heard. Harry blinked at him._

"_I do?" Draco nodded solemnly, and leaned forwards, pinning Harry into the corner, and kissed him passionately. Harry's eyes grew wide, and he stiffened, pulling away as much as he could. Draco pulled away reluctantly._

"_Please Harry? Just once, and I'll do anything you want. Anything at all."_

_Harry looked frightened, but nodded reluctantly; Malfoy had the upper hand, and he knew it. There was no way he was going to change his price; that would be backing down, which he would never do. Draco smiled, unexpectedly thawing; allowing Harry to see his pleasure at Harry's compliance, then leaned over again, and gently kissed his lips, the softest imaginable contact of lips on lips. Pulling away, he asked, "So, what exactly do you need me to do?" Harry stood, backing away from the overly eager blond. _

"_Ron, Hermione, and I will bring you up to speed tomorrow," he said, then fled._

_When he realized exactly how much they were expecting him to help with, Draco wryly thought that if it had been anyone but the boy he had been slowly falling in love with for the past year and a half, he would have thought he'd sold himself cheaply. As it was, he was glad to have the opportunity to spend so much time around Harry._

_They spent all the time possible in the library, researching, trying to figure out exactly what Tom Riddle would have considered items important enough to carry pieces of his soul, and where he might have hidden them. The diary suggested that there might be one or several items at Malfoy Manor, and other Death Eater haunts. They were all hoping to discover other places they would more likely be, but didn't have a whole lot of hope in it. The week before school got out, Hermione found a spell that would reveal if an item was a horcrux, and made sure they all knew it._

_As the last week of school passed, Harry grew more and more tense. He and Draco had decided that the last day of school would be the day they consummated their agreement, and just being around the blond made him nervous. Draco sensed this, and reluctantly allowed him his space._

End Flashback

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ok, questions!

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1) where should they be going?

a) Malfoy Manor

b) Riddle Mansion

c) Godric's Hollow

d) cemetary

Riddles

Potters

e) elsewhere (please specify)

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2) Should they find anything there, if so, what?

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3)Do Ron and Hermione go with Harry and Draco, or do they split up into two groups?

If they split up, when? When they leave the school, or somewhere else? (please specify)

I think that'll do it for now. PLEASE ANSWER!


	3. Chapter 3

ok, last chapter was flashback, now we're getting back to the origional storyline. There will be a few more questions at the end of the chapter, please answer! i require your creativity to feed my muse, or she will not help me with this story. she's finicky. so please help me!

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yes, i know this ine's rather short too, but i end chapters where it feels right to end them, and this was it. i actually do have the next chapter mostly finished, so it'll be up as soon as i get some more good reviews!

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Harry stirred slightly, waking Draco, who looked down at his thin body resting against him and smiled. Last night's memory was euphoric for him, and if it weren't for Harry's warm form pressed against him, he would easily have believed that it was a particularly vivid dream. It wasn't like dreaming about Harry would be anything new for him. He had been having wet dreams about Harry since he was old enough to have them at all, though the raven-haired boy remained oblivious to this fact. He dragged his fingers gently through the messy black hair, and placed a kiss on Harry's temple. Harry stirred, wrinkling his nose slightly, brilliant green eyes opening cautiously, staring into Draco's silver.

"Good morning." Harry pulled away slightly, and Draco let him go, silently mourning the loss of Harry's sleeping trust. Harry sat up and winced. "You ok?" Harry nodded, and disappeared rather quickly through another door Draco hadn't noticed before. He assumed it was a bathroom, since Harry reappeared half an hour later freshly showered, a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Shower's in there." Harry gestured towards the door as he walked over to the wardrobe, now clearly seen in the light from the large windows, where last night it had been swallowed up by shadows. Draco took the hint and left Harry to dress in peace.

Harry sat heavily on the edge of the bed, the events of the past night replaying over and over in his mind, and he knew he'd get no peace until he faced whatever was bothering his subconscious about it. He closed his eyes, allowing the memories to replay in his mind, actually watching them instead of trying to push it to the back of his mind as he'd been doing all morning. He focused in on what few thoughts had been going through his mind, because he was fairly sure if he focused on what Draco had been doing to him, he'd get hard, and that would be rather embarrassing, seeing as how Draco was still on his rooms. About fifteen minutes later, he resurfaced with the slightly troubling knowledge that the general consensus of his thoughts was 'oh, this is nice.'

Draco reentered the room about half an hour later, to find Harry sitting on the bed, dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, and an emerald t-shirt that clung delightfully to his muscles. His feet were bare, and he seemed to have drifted off, but his eyes were open, and they flickered every so often.

"Harry?" Harry jumped.

"Yeah?" His voice was breathy, and distracted, and sent a spear of lust careening through Draco's body.

"You ok? You look kinda spacy."

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just thinking." He stood suddenly, unconsciously giving Draco an admiring once-over, taking in his black slacks and sapphire button-up, left casually loose. Draco smirked, and pulled Harry over to the wardrobe again. Digging through it, he found a short-sleeved, buttoned shirt that went with Harry's tee, which he tightened a little, and widened the neck so that the mark on the side of his neck was clearly visible, pulling the second shirt over it.

"There. Much better." Harry had to admit, it did look good on him. The collared shirt gave him an air of careless sophistication, while still showing off his nice -if he did say so himself- body. He didn't even notice the livid love-bite on the side of his neck, quietly displayed, the line of the collar drawing the eye straight towards it. "So, another week until we set off?" Draco questioned, more to hear Harry speak some more than from any real need to ask.

"That's what we were thinking, yeah. And quite honestly, I don't think I could sit a broom today, anyway." He glared playfully at Draco, who shrugged helplessly.

"Sorry."

"Sure you are." Draco pouted at him.

"I _am _sorry you're hurting. I tried to be as gentle as I could. Honestly though, I was expecting it to hurt you more then. The power of the human mind, eh?" Harry nodded.

"I guess. I knew it would hurt, and I was focusing on anything and everything else." Draco smiled at him as they headed out to breakfast.

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**OK, QUESSIES! **

**1) Should they contenue a relationship quickly, or take their time?**

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**2) When should Ron and Hermione find out about their relationship?**

**a) after voldie's destroied**

**b) before they leave to search**

**c) during the search**

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**3) How should Ron/Hermione find out? (please specify who you want to do what)**

**a) one or both of the boys tell him/her/them?**

**b) walk in on them**

**c) just figure it out and confront them **

**d) just figure it out and immediately tell other**

**e) remain oblivious until told by whomever tells him/her/them**


	4. Chapter 4

all the usual disclamers. i don't like typing it.

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They made it down to the Great Hall before Ron and Hermione did for which Harry was grateful, because they both would have asked a million embarrassing questions when they saw him.

"Crap," Draco said suddenly, looking up from whatever dream world he had been lost in and noticing Harry's stiff movements. Two minutes and a muttered charm later, Harry was walking normally again, and very grateful.

"Thanks, Drake." He glanced at Draco through his eyelashes, then looked away quickly. The blond was staring at him, an unreadable expression in his eyes.

He nodded, eyes never leaving Harry's face, noting the soft blush that had spread across his cheeks when he noticed Draco's gaze. He smirked slightly. From what he could see, this could go two ways. Either Harry was embarrassed, and would likely attempt to avoid him as much as possible, or Harry was attracted to him. Of course, the second option would likely lead to just as much avoidance as the first, as he was fairly sure that Harry had never realized he was bi, though Draco had seen him checking both guys and girls out. If he hadn't, he never would have dared to ask that of him. He'd have felt like it was rape, even if it was consensual.

Ron and Hermione's entrance interrupted his musings, as they sat one on each side of Harry, who had sat across from Draco. It was a very lonely feeling, but he was used to it. They always left him sitting alone. Most people did. Harry would usually sit by him, but was likely going to be touchy around him for a couple of days. On the upside, though, he sat wherever he liked and nobody said anything. He'd never sat at the Gryffindor table before, not wanting to push his luck, but the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs accepted him easily, though suspiciously. But hey, it was the last day of school, and he was sitting with the three acknowledged leaders of Gryffindor, so what the hell?

"May I ask, just what you're doing at the Gryffindor table, Malfoy?" A painfully polite voice spoke next to him.

"Eating breakfast." Harry snickered at his response, and Draco smirked at him. Looking up, he caught the glare the petite redhead sent him, apparently for nothing more than sitting here and making Harry laugh. "Good morning, Weaslette." Now she and Ron were both glaring at him. "What? I said good morning in a perfectly pleasant manner."

"They don't like the nickname, Draco," Harry laughed, making Ginny gasp with his casual use of the blonde's first name.

"So sue me, Scarhead." Now all the nearby Gryffindors except Harry were glaring at him. Fortunately it was still early, and most of Gryffindor was still in bed. Still, there were enough to do him serious damage if he didn't watch his step. Harry, however, merely grinned at him, and his housemates relaxed.

"Whatever, Blondie." Draco glared at him. Trust Harry to go straight for his vanity points. Harry knew his hair was the part he spent the most time on, and any comments about his hair got under his skin really easily. Harry grinned. "See? You have names you just don't like." Draco pouted at him. He hated it when Harry bested him, but he didn't have an appropriate comeback that wouldn't get him murdered by the surrounding Gryffindorks. Ginny was staring at them in shock; she had never seen them together since they had ended hostilities. At least he'd managed to bewilder her, that would have to do for now. When she noticed his renewed smirk, her lips tightened, and she stomped away. "So, Drake, why did you call her that, anyway?"

"She shouldn't have glared at me when you laughed." Harry grinned, a pleased glint in his eye. He liked Draco paying attention to him, always had, actually . . ..

"It irritated you that she glared when I laughed?"

"Yes. I was being perfectly polite to her, and she gets mad at me because of something beyond my control. I didn't _make_ you laugh. You just thought it was funny." Yes, Draco had definitely been defending him, wasn't that cute? Harry smiled happily.

"So I did." Ron and Hermione exchanged looks, both sure they were missing something, but totally unable to see what it was.

"She's a jealous b- broad." He changed mid-word, sure that Ron would take exception to his calling his sister a bitch, no matter how deserved it was.

"Hmm." He couldn't tell if the sound Harry made was agreement of dissent, and from the looks on their faces, nobody else could either.

-

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"Wait- that last piece, describe it again."

"A large gold chalice, with four rubies inset into each quarter on the sides of the top, and again on the base."

"What's up Malfoy, you look pale. Not that that's anything new, but you're paler than usual." Harry sounded concerned and amused at the same time.

"I've seen it."

"Where?"

"Gringotts."

"OK." Hermione noted it down, _Malfoy-chalice-Gringotts_. "And that's the last of Gryffindor's known items. Next-"

"Why did we start with Gryffindor, anyway? He'd be more likely to go after Slytherin's things."

"Because Gryffindor left the most items." Hermione sounded exasperated; she'd explained this before they started going over the list, he'd asked just to irritate her. "_Next, _is Slytherin's. First up, a locket, silver, with a snake in the form of an 's', having an emerald set as the eye -man, who actually talks like that?-"

"A collector, an auctioneer-"

"Yes, thank you." Hermione said dryly, cutting off Draco's litany of exactly who spoke like that.

"So it's a silver locket, with a snake with an emerald eye, that's curled into an 's'." Draco rattled off, just in case she was having trouble translating it. Ok, so once again, he'd done it merely to annoy her, but it seemed he'd hit a chord somewhere. Hermione looked up suddenly, a look of total shock on her face.

"And we agreed that it would likely be somewhere associated with either current or former Death Eaters?" They all nodded. "Sirius' brother was a Death Eater, remember? And that locket we found?" Ron and Harry both started cursing furiously. Draco looked curious.

"Where is it? We were going to throw it out."

"It looked valuable, so Kreacher probably stole it back and hid it somewhere." Apparently, they really didn't like Kreacher . . ..

"Kreacher's the house elf at Headquarters. He's nutty as a fruitcake, and won't listen to any of us. He has to obey Harry because Sirius left him the house and everything associated with it, but he totally hates him. Mutters insults and curses whenever he's in earshot, and he's just a general pain." Wow. The longest speech Ron had ever made in Draco's presence, and it was spent on a house elf. Draco totally missed Hermione's response to this little speech, thinking about what they should do next. The lists and everything could be moved, they could take them to this headquarters, so they could set up base there instead of here at the school, which was going to be deserted soon.

"Right, that's two items, I think we should work on that before we find any more. I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting tired of just sitting here reading, and both are places we can get to without you having to sit a broom." This last part was ostensibly to Hermione, who hated flying, but the wording made it obvious he was talking to Harry, who blushed. Draco suppressed a chuckle. "So, you and Weasley go to wherever it is you saw the locket, and I'll take Harry to Gringotts to look for the chalice."

"We should go together . . .."

"You think I'm going to let you into my Gringotts vaults? Think again, Granger. Also, I thing we should move to this Headquarters you guys were talking about, since everyone's going to be gone here soon." Harry nodded.

"Actually, I think that's a good idea. Neither place is really dangerous. We'll go together to places we can't trust, but neither Grimmauld nor Gringotts are places we have to worry about. The Order has protections on one, and the goblins protect the other. And I don't really fancy staying here once the place is empty." Having gotten Harry's approval, there was now no use protesting Draco's plan. That was one good thing about being the golden boy. As long as his plan was thought out, no one questioned him. Any plan he approved went.

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Hermione looked between the two bickering boys. Something had changed between them; the constant fighting was covering something. She just couldn't see what. She didn't understand what would suddenly change their relationship, but something obviously had, though Ron was oblivious, as usual.

"'Mi, you ready?" She started at Ron's voice, right next to her. She hadn't heard him approach, lost in her thoughts as she was. "We'd best be going. It'll take time to find that blasted locket." She nodded. The mansion was huge, and there was no telling where Kreacher would have hidden it.

"Yeah, let's go." She turned to Harry and Draco. "You boys ready?" They both nodded, then turned to grin at each other, Harry with a nearly unnoticeable blush. Nobody except Draco noticed it, as the others were to wrapped-up in their last minute departure minutiae. "Good. After you." Harry shrugged, and grabbed a handful of Floo powder, Draco right behind him, one hand resting on Harry's shoulder until Harry shrugged it off. Draco stepped in front of Harry, blocking his access to the fire. Harry scowled, but allowed Draco to go first. He did, however, punch Draco's shoulder, hard. Draco acted as if he didn't notice, other than a small wince when his fist connected.

"Gringotts!" Draco said as he threw his fistful of shimmering green powder into the fire, turning it a bright emerald, then stepped into the flames, seemingly disappearing.

"Gringotts!" Harry called a couple of seconds later, following his actions. Hermione turned to Ron.

"Well, let's go."

-

Draco caught Harry's arm as he tumbled out of the fire, keeping him from falling.

"Nice entrance, Potter."

"Thanks!" Harry grinned at him. He sighed.

"Let's get this over with." Harry headed over towards the line of tellers. Draco slid into a booth, presenting his signet ring to the goblin within.

"I'd like to visit the main vault, please." The goblin examined both the ring and the wearer closely, then nodded.

"Of course. Follow me, please." He opened a small door, and led them both down a short hallway towards the vaults.


	5. Chapter 5

HAHA! More story for you, my finely furry friends!

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don't ask where that came from, i don't know. but! i do know where the chappei came from, and that's my most beauteaus muse, who has much appriciated all the reviews. GIVE HER MORE SO I CAN WIRTE MORE STORY!! if she don't get reviews, she throws a hissy fit and won't help me write, then i can't write anything.

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An hour later, Harry had lost his patience. The goblin wouldn't be back for them for another hour, but he was already tired of searching through the haphazardly placed items that previous Malfoys had considered important enough to store in the bank.

"Accio chalice!" he cried, focusing on what the chalice he wanted looked like. It flew to his hand, and Draco stared at him in shock.

"That's not supposed to work, y'know," he said matter-of-factly. Harry shrugged.

"I'm the exception to a lot of rules. According to those who should know but are very stingy with their information," Draco laughed, knowing exactly whom Harry was talking about. "I mostly use Will Magic. I only need the incantations or my wand because I became convinced that I do." Draco nodded slowly. This also explained how he had kept from feeling any pain that night. He had simply willed it not to hurt, and his will was strong enough that his magic responded to it. Or at least it did when he wasn't blocking it with his knowledge of what was and was not possible in magic.

"Anyway, do you really think this is it?" Harry asked.

"Only one way to find out." Draco pulled his own wand, and cast the spell to reveal a horcrux. The chalice slowly started glowing with an ugly red light rising until it overpowered the lights over the course of the next fifteen minutes. Draco ended the spell as soon as possible, but it didn't let go quickly. "I think it's safe to say it is indeed," he panted, feeling as though he had run a mile barefoot in the cold. The effect soon passed as Harry jumped on him, laughing, and hugged him tightly. Draco hugged him back, knowing that all too soon, Harry would get embarrassed and pull away. But he didn't. He simply stood there, holding Draco firmly against him. Draco raised one hand and turned Harry's head to where he could look into his eyes. Harry blushed as this brought their faces close together, but still did not pull away; did not pull away even when Draco placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

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Harry's heart was pounding as Draco dropped tiny kisses onto his lips, as though he couldn't risk making Harry pull away by kissing him deeper, but couldn't stop kissing him either. It looked like it would be up to him to initiate any deeper contact, but he was scared to. He was still confused about what this meant -as Draco had thought, he hadn't even considered being anything but straight- and he still hurt from last night, not a lot, mostly just a vague ache, but he definitely wasn't ready for that again, though he did want more than the tiny little kisses Draco was showering him with.

A slight whimpering noise made it's way from his throat before he could stop it, and Draco grinned and pulled him into a vastly more satisfying kiss, lips moving firmly, but unhurriedly, against Harry's and Harry moaned and melted against his hold, hesitantly kissing back. He had spent most of the morning wrestling with himself, but he finally decided 'fuck it. If he's attractive, he's attractive. And he's definitely attractive. I already know he wants me. No reason I shouldn't pursue it. Is there?'

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Draco was fighting himself, not wanting to push Harry, but Harry's warm body pressing up against his made it so hard to think, especially when Harry had his arms wrapped around his neck, and was kissing him softly, had practically _asked_ to be kissed. He _knew_ Harry wouldn't be up for any more than some kissing and maybe a little touching, not today at least, not when he was probably still feeling it from last night, but all Draco wanted to do was tear his clothes off and fuck him again. He had thought that having had his way with Harry once would have given him a handle on his lust, but apparently it had made it worse. Having been able to touch Harry once, his body wanted more. A lot more. He slid one hand down to rest across Harry's buttocks, and Harry shivered, pressing his body against Draco's, causing a moan to escape from Draco's throat. Harry shifted, and Draco knew he could not have missed how hard Draco had gotten from merely kissing and having Harry pressed against him; with anyone else, he would have been embarrassed, but somehow, he couldn't find it in him to be embarrassed about getting hard for Harry, because Harry was perfection itself, as far as he was concerned.

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There was the sound of a throat clearing behind him, and he broke the kiss with a start. The goblin that had brought them down to the vaults had returned. Clearly the spell had taken a lot of time as well as energy, though he hadn't noticed the passing time. Or maybe the time had passed while he was kissing Harry; he didn't know if they had been kissing half a minute or half an hour. Harry stepped away and smirked; Draco shivered suddenly, feeling as though he had been immersed in ice water, but it did take care of his problem. He shot a glare at Harry, who gave him one of his most angelic smiles. He rolled his eyes and followed the goblin out, making sure to retrieve the chalice on the way by. It would be totally pointless -though not totally without results, at least to his way of thinking- to spend so long searching for it, only to leave it here. He also made sure to pinch Harry's bottom for dropping him in ice water. Or whatever he had actually done. Stopping suddenly, he used several spells to restore his looks to their normal perfection, then a few more to rid Harry of his most appealing 'just kissed' look. Their companions would not be happy about them kissing, he was sure, and he intended to put their finding out about it as far in the future as possible. Hopefully they'd never find out, though he knew he wouldn't be that lucky. Harry smiled at him; his eyes clear for the first time that morning, and snagged his hand as they walked. Draco grinned and wrapped an arm around Harry's waist, pulling him closer.

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AGAIN, PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU WANT MORE STORY. NEXT CHAPTER WON'T COME OUT UNTIL I HAVE AT LEAST 10 REVIEWS.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione raised an eyebrow as they stepped through the Floo together, Draco's arm wrapped around Harry's waist, Harry's arm across his shoulders.

"I had to bring him across, since the Fidelus is still in place," Harry said innocently, a suspicious light in his eyes. Hermione nodded slowly, feeling as though she had the pieces to several puzzles in one box, with no way to tell how many puzzles she was working with, much less what puzzle a particular piece went to. Draco smirked at her, interrupting her contemplation.

"Now that I'm here, mind telling me where I am?" She glared at him.

"Yes, I think I do mind." She spun and stormed off, presumably to continue looking for the locket.

"Aren't you going to ask how our search went?" Harry called after her. She stopped suddenly.

"Fine, how did your search go?" she asked, irritated.

"Very well," Draco answered. She sighed in frustration. She hated talking to Draco because when she wanted to know something, it was like pulling teeth, and when she didn't, he wouldn't shut up.

"Did you find it?"

"Yes." She spun around again and flew into Harry's arms, hugging him ecstatically. Draco chuckled, thinking that at least _this_ hug wouldn't lead to kissing, as Hermione was very firmly devoted to Ron. Harry, hearing Draco's laugh, blushed slightly when he realized what caused it.

"What, no hug for me?" Draco teased.

"No, Ron wouldn't like me just going around hugging people."

"Oh, so you can hug Harry but not me. I see how you are. C'mon, it's not like I'm any competition for Ron, am I Harry?" Harry shook his head solemnly.

"Oh? And why is that, Harry?"

"Because he's gay." Harry grinned at her. Apparently Draco had hidden it better than he'd thought, because Hermione looked shocked.

"He is?" Draco nodded when she looked to him. "Are you, Harry?"

"He's not." Draco answered before Harry could. When Hermione gave him a look, he shrugged. "I know these things. He's not gay." At Harry's confused expression, he melted. "He's bi."

"What?"

"Y'know, bi-sexual, as in into both guys and girls?" Hermione flushed.

"Right." She looked between them. "So are you two a couple, then?" Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry, wordlessly passing the decision to him. After a couple of minutes of silence, Harry spoke slowly.

"I . . . think so . . .." Draco smiled tenderly, moving to cup one cheek, and placed a gentle kiss on Harry's lips, remembering they had company. Harry pressed for more, but Draco pulled away slightly, just enough to separate their lips.

"Hermione's watching us," he whispered.

"So? She thinks gay guys are hot." Hermione cleared her throat.

"As entertaining as this is, Ron is going to come looking for us soon." Harry pouted, but stepped away. Ron would flip if he saw them kissing, especially without warning.

"So, 'Mione, did you talk to Kreacher?"

"Please. He listens to you because he's bound to. He ignores the rest of us. He's been in and out, muttering about the unworthy in his poor mistresses house." Harry scowled, knowing she'd edited his comments a lot. Kreacher had a dirtier mouth than Draco had used, and he actually meant it.

"KREACHER!" The house elf popped in after long moments, and Draco's frown, which had started when Hermione said the elf ignored everyone but Harry, grew at the insolence the elf was showing.

"Master has called Kreacher?" The elf bowed, muttering under his breath, "Filthy half-blood master, letting mudbloods and blood traitors into my mistress's house, oh my poor mistress, how she'd weep to see it-"

"Stupid elf!" Draco exploded. "You mistress would be ashamed of your behavior!" Kreacher looked up at him questioningly.

"Kreacher, this is Draco Malfoy." Kreacher blinked.

"Yous is Miss 'Cissy's son?!" Draco nodded.

"Narcissa Black is my mother, yes."

"And yous is friendly with this half-blood, my new Master?"

"More than friendly. And if you were my house elf, I'd have given you clothes long ago."

"Can't give Kreacher clothes, they can't. Kreacher knows too much, yes he does." Draco's voice chilled farther.

"Retire you then. Without honors." Kreacher paled, and flung himself down at Draco's feet.

"Forgives Kreacher! Kind Master forgives Kreacher?" He looked up at Harry, who scowled.

"I don't see why I should. You got people killed. You made me loose part of my family." Kreacher cowered.

"Sweet girl, you's wouldn't lets them retire Kreacher dishonorably, would yous?" Hermione realized what Draco was up to, and answered in kind, though she hated manipulating anything like this, even a creature as spiteful as Kreacher.

"Why should I stop them? You've done nothing but insult me from the moment you saw me."

"Kreacher is sorry, miss!"

Draco moved his hand, catching Kreature's attention again. "We're looking for something. A locket. It's silver, and has a snake on the front, with an emerald for the eye. Bring it to us."

"Of course, Master Draco sir," Kreacher stuttered, and vanished.

"So, what exactly was that about, Drake? I think I missed a lot there."

"Well, as someone close to you, I would have a lot of influence in your decisions. And when I mentioned retiring him, you didn't make any move to protest, which meant that the idea was not . . . impossible." He finished rather uncertainly, then looked up at Hermione.

"Didn't think you had it in you, Granger," he said approvingly. She scowled.

"And what about Harry? He said more than I did."

"Ah, but that was natural. You were playing along. He actually meant it." Harry nodded shortly, his eyes cloudy. Draco pulled him into his arms, and onto the couch, wrapping himself protectively around Harry until he calmed down. Harry sighed and rested his head on Draco's shoulder.

Ron chose this moment to walk in. "Herm, have they got here ye- WHAT THE HELL?!"

"We just had an encounter with Kreacher," Hermione explained, trying to shift his attention off of the two boys cuddling on the couch. She was ignored.

"I do believe Harry is asleep," Draco commented softly.

"Let's get him to bed then." Hermione led the way to the room that Ron and Harry shared while they were here, and Draco carried Harry behind her, refusing to allow anyone to help, or even charm Harry lighter. Harry was so thin; he didn't really have any trouble carrying him. Ron followed behind, a mulish expression on his face.

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HAHAHAHAHA!! with the cliffhanger!!

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ok, so i don't think it's that much of a cliffie, but _how_ is ronnie going to react? -evil grin-

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and i just wanted to say that in the books, kreature's main ambition at this point in the story is to be killed (retired) and have his head hung on a plaque with his ancestors. a dishonorable retirement, to him, would be the worst possible threat, because there's nothing else he wants.

and draco's scorn is a strong motivator for him because he's decended from his mistress, and he's a dark wizard, so he's what krecher's been taught to respect.

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and i have decided to raise the requisite reviews to 20, because once you people were convinced to do it, i got 10 in no time!! i love you guys. but 20 reviews before i post the next chapter.

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**EDIT: **come on, guys. it's been how long, and only 8 reviews? is you is loosing intrest? c'mon, you need to review and tell me what you want to read! if it's not going how you want to read it, i will endevor to change it for you. as an authoress, your wish is my command! or as close as my muse will let me get to your wish. she twists things sometimes.


	7. Chapter 7

**EDIT: **i thought i'd already posted this. i apologize for my oversite, and now you get two chapters at once, to make up for it! **END EDIT**

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like i said in the note i replaced this with, thank you for your patience with me as i attempt to pull things back together. i've had a lot of issues lately. i'm currently house-sitting in my grandfather'd house, which is currently empty. there's talk about my family moving into it, but so far it's only talk.

this will be the last update for a bit, as i try to figure out if i wish to contenue the story as crackily as it's turned out, or if i want to try to fix it. if i fix it, i'll have to completely rehaul everything i have after this chapter. it would be a pain, but i'll willingly do it if i decide that it'll make the story better. because i'm kinda stuck at the moment anyway. don't worry though, i will not drop it. i hate it when people drop a story i've been following, and plan to never do that.

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"Would you mine explaining to me exactly _why_ you were curled up with Harry like he's your girlfriend or something?!" Ron exploded as soon as the door shut behind Draco, who was the last one out of the room where Harry was sleeping. Draco sighed, glad he had cast a silencing charm around Harry's bed, as that bellow would surely have woken him. Honestly, he was surprised Ron had contained himself as long as he did, though.

"Real nice way to talk about your best friend, calling him a girl." Hermione giggled at Draco's tart rejoinder.

"'Mione! It's not funny! What's going on here?" Ron looked lost, his bewilderment momentarily overpowering his anger.

"You walked in at a bad time." Draco said simply. Ron snorted.

"That much was obvious. Now tell me what's going on!" Hermione sighed.

"You are so thick-headed, Ron. Harry got upset talking to Kreacher, and Draco was comforting him."

"And why's he suddenly being so comforting? And since when do you call him 'Draco'?" The anger was starting to lace through the bewilderment again.

"Since me and Harry got together," Draco said bluntly, tired of playing with him. Ron gaped at him, stunned. That had not even been one of the possibilities that he had seriously considered, confident in his assurance of Harry's straightness.

"You- But- Harry- But Harry's not gay!" He finally managed to stammer out. Draco smirked at him.

"No, he's not." Ok, so maybe he wasn't that tired of playing with the redhead.

"Then-"

"He's bi." There wasn't a whole lot Ron could say to that. There wasn't any real prejudice against gay and bi people in the Wizarding world, mostly just from muggleborns, it was just something he hadn't considered. Draco nodded stiffly to him and smiled at Hermione before re-entering the bedroom, moving to lay beside Harry, still in shock that Harry had said they were a couple. He smiled and pressed a kiss into Harry's temple, then laid his head against Harry's chest, the rise and fall of his breath bothering him not at all. He closed his eyes, breathing in Harry's unique scent.

"Draco?" A hand slid along his cheek, drawing his attention to the sleepy voice.

"Hmm?"

"How long've I been asleep?"

"I dunno. I fell asleep too. Wonder if that blasted elf's found it yet. Wonder if it thought to make us dinner."

"For the first, no, but for the second, yes. And it was good, about an hour ago." An amused voice said from the doorway. Harry groaned.

"Come in, Hermione." She opened the door and giggled, but before she could say anything, Kreacher appeared.

"Kreacher has found it, Master Malfoy, sir!" Draco pointedly ignored him. "Kreacher has found it, Master Harry Potter!" Harry held out a hand, and Kreacher placed the tarnished locket in it, beaming triumphantly.

"Good. Now bring us some dinner, would you?"

"Of course, Master Malfoy, sir!" Kreacher vanished again, and Hermione turned to Draco irritatedly.

"Not even a thank-you for finding it?"

"Do you think his much beloved mistress –my great-aunt, by the way- ever thanked him for anything? I highly doubt it. I'm treating him the same way he was treated by those he actually respects." Harry nodded thoughtfully.

"C'mon, Hermione," he said at her continued frown, "Can you honestly see Sirius' mum thanking anyone? Especially an elf?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"You've met my great-aunt? Pray tell, how?"

"Portrait in the entryway. Shrieks any time anyone makes too much noise, always manages to insult everybody within earshot by cursing all blood traitors, muggleborns, and half-bloods, real pain. Nobody can get her down." Draco grimaced, remembering the portrait from visits as a small child.

"So, how do we get rid of these things, anyway? And how many of them are left?"

"Well, I got rid of the diary second year, Dumbledore got rid of the ring the end of last summer, and we have the chalice and the locket. That leaves three to find, one of which I'm sure is that damn snake. I have no idea how Dumbledore did the ring, but I stabbed the diary with a basilisk fang."

"A _basilisk _fang?"

"Well, as I had just killed the basilisk, there really wasn't much else I could get to and destroy it." Harry shrugged, deciding rather hastily to gloss over his near-death experience, as it would likely only upset all his listeners, as none of them had been where they could help him at the time.

"You _killed _a _basilisk?_"

"Second year," Harry agreed. Draco stared at him. "Would've died if it weren't for Fawkes." At Draco's look of incomprehension, he continued, "The fang that I stabbed it with broke off in my arm." Draco shuddered.

"So, how are we going to get rid of these? Because if destroying the ring is what got Dombledore's arm-"

"It was."

"-Then we really need to find some other way," Draco finished over Harry's assurance.

"Well, basilisk venom if one of the most corrosive things in the wizarding world . . .."

"I think we should focus on finding the other two Horcruxes," Ron said loudly. Draco smirked at him.

"Ok, you and Harry go try to figure out what else we're looking for, and let the ones with the brains figure out how to destroy them." Harry punched Draco on the arm, hard. "Ouch, you brute!"

"Well, don't go calling me brainless."

"But we all know it's not your mind I want you for," Draco teased, not noticing how Harry grew quiet at his words, busy watching Ron's incredulous sputtering. Harry, meanwhile, was mentally berating himself for allowing himself to think that this relationship might be different from Draco's previous relationships, that Draco might want it to be something lasting, not just 'it was fun while it lasted', but something that mattered. Hermione was the first to notice the look on his face.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, he didn't mean it, Harry!" Harry just shot her a 'how do you know' look and left the room, heading for the kitchen.

"What was that about?" Draco asked, having caught only her exclamation.

"If you value the relationship you have beyond 'fun while it lasted' you better go talk to him. **Now**. _How could you have been so __**stupid**_!?" Draco looked puzzled, and Hermione sighed. "Harry's sensitive, he's got a really low self-esteem, and he's-" Draco was on his feet the moment she said 'low self-esteem' and out the door before he could hear whatever else she was going to say.

"Harry?" there was no response from the boy standing in front of the stove, methodically making tea. "Harry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. You know I didn't mean it." He wrapped his arms around Harry, ignoring the way he stiffened at his touch. "Forgive me, Harry? I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just teasing." Harry reluctantly relaxed against him.

"How can I know that?" Harry asked softly, and Draco tightened his arms against the helpless fear in his voice. "You can say that, but how do I _know_ it's true?"

"Have I ever lied to you before? Even when we were fighting, I never told you anything I didn't think was true." Harry didn't answer, his mind in turmoil. Even if Draco thought he was in love now, there was still the strongly supported possibility that he would become bored with Harry.

"'Moine, do you think they're really together?" Ron asked plaintively. Hermione sighed.

"Yes, I do."

"Damn, I was hoping Malfoy was just yanking my chain again." Hermione giggled at that. Ron pouted and she slid over on the couch to lean against him, smiling softly when one arm automatically came to wrap around her waist. She sighed softly.

"Why is it so hard for you to accept, Ronny?"

"I dunno. I guess just because it never occurred to me that Harry'd be into anything but birds, y'know? To find out he's into blokes too, and dating Malfoy, well, it was a shock."

"I don't think they've been dating long. I asked if they were a couple, and Draco just looked at Harry for an answer, and when Harry said yes, they both looked surprised by it." Ron relaxed more at that.

"So at least I haven't been missing it for a long time."

"No, I think they got together on the last day of school, actually," she said slowly, remembering how awkward they had been around each other since then.

"Very clever of you, Granger." Draco's voice sounded from the doorway. Looking up, she frowned.

"Where's Harry?" Draco shrugged, striving for nonchalance.

"He went to bed. He said he was beat." The tightness of his jaw gave him away, however.

"He's still upset, isn't he?" His jaw tightened further, and he nodded reluctantly. "So why aren't you with him?"

"He asked for time alone. Said he needed to sort things out." He laughed harshly. "I think this might be the shortest relationship I've ever been in. First day officially together, and I screw it up. That's got to be a new record." He grinned sardonically at Hermione as he crossed the room. "Though you're right, we have been rather dancing around each other since the end of school." He sat in an armchair across from them, his eyes dark, cold, and unfocused. Underneath his calm exterior, however, he was beating himself up for ruining things with Harry when he finally had a chance. He vowed to himself that if Harry forgave him, he'd be a lot more careful in the future.

Hermione looked concerned, obviously reading more from him then he'd have given her credit for being able to see. "Are _you_ ok?" He gave her a look.

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm not the one with a conniving boyfriend." He sighed. "Just an emotional one."

"You're being a conniving boyfriend?" Ron asked, reminding Draco he was in the room as well; he'd almost forgotten in his upset.

"Well, that's the impression I gave, isn't it?" he looked down at the table between them. "I know very well what upset him. I made him think that all I wanted was a joy-toy. Someone to play with, then leave when I get bored. He chuckled bitterly. "If only he knew," he muttered, so soft that Hermione barely caught his words.

"If he knew what?" she asked, acting as though she didn't see Harry standing uncertainly in the doorway. He obviously hadn't expected Draco to be there.

"That I've been falling in love with him since we stopped fighting," he said softly, the words nonetheless sounding loud in the silent room. Harry walked quietly to stand behind Draco.

"Really?" he asked, and Draco jumped.

"God, Harry, don't sneak up on me like that!" he exclaimed, pulling him around the chair and into his lap. Ron looked away. "Yes, you prat, really." He leaned close to whisper in his ear. "I told you that I've wanted you for a long time. I actually did mean more than just a good fuck; I just didn't think I'd have a chance to get any more than that. I want to be with you, for as long as you'll have me. I didn't mean what I said earlier." He kissed Harry's ear every couple of words. Harry leaned back into his embrace, but still with a cold, untrusting stiffness that had Draco despairing of ever being forgiven.

"And they all say: oh, well I never, was there ever, a cat so clever as, magical Mr. Mistoffolees!"

"-Magical Mr. Mistofolees!" Harry sang comically, Hermione joining him for the second half. They looked at each other, then back down to a very pregnant Crookshanks.

"And not long ago, this phenomenal cat, produced seven kittens, right out of a hat!" Harry burst out laughing.

"Glad to see someone's in a good mood." Draco sat on the edge of his bed, watching them morosely through the open door. Hermione smiled at him.

"Crookshanks is going to have kittens any day now!" she said excitedly. "You can have one if you want." He gave her a small smile.

"I love kittens," he said softly, his eyes fixed sadly on Harry, who was kneeling, petting the pregnant cat, momentarily oblivious to Draco's regard. He looked up suddenly and met Draco's eyes.

"You need something, Draco?" Draco sighed.

"Nothing that I'm expecting to be able to get. Like that's anything new, huh?" he stood and made his way downstairs. Harry turned to Hermione.

"What's wrong with him?"

"You don't pay attention much, do you?" at Harry's blank gaze, she sighed. "He's in love with you, and he's terrified that you're going to push him away because of what he said."

"But why hasn't he said anything about it, if he still wants to be with me? He's practically been ignoring me!" Harry sounded like he was upset by this, as well as confused, and Hermione was sure that if he got his feelings straightened out before Draco gave up and found someone else, there was no way they'd separate.

"You said you needed space, and time to think. He's trying to give you what you asked for. And the longer you need to think about whatever it is you're thinking about, the more convinced he's gonna be that you don't want him. If you wait too long, he's gonna take the choice out of your hands."

"Maybe you can help me, Mi. I can't sort things out." He looked at her desperately. She motioned him into her room, which was right next to Draco's, and they both sat on the bed. "I know he didn't mean what he said, about only wanting me for my body, but I can't help but think he's going to get tired of me and dump me eventually, I mean, his track record doesn't really inspire hope for commitment, does it? And I'm afraid that I'll fall in love with him, only to be dumped when he gets bored," he finished in a tear-filled whisper. She pulled him close, holding him tightly as his frightened tears finally escaped from the iron control he had been holding them behind for two days.

"Think about this though, Rry. If he wanted to be with you while he was with those other people, then it wouldn't have lasted, now would it?" Harry sat up slowly.

"But still-"

"But still, you're going to have to decide. The longer you agonize over it, the longer you hurt the both of you." Harry nodded.

"Thank you, 'Mione. You always put things in perspective for me." She grinned cheekily at him.

"That's what I'm here for!"

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just for the record, hermione's nickname for harry is pronounced 'ree'. it's the last three letters of his name, and are pronounced the same way they are in his name.

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signing off for now, hopefully i get things sorted out soon. i shant require reviews for my next posting this time, as i cannot promise to update as soon as i get the number required, but remember, reviews inspire me, and it's likely i'll get it worked out sooner with more reviews. i think it sounds rather odd, but it's true nonetheless. this story doesn't work right without reviews. i think that's why it turned so cracy in the first place, lol. either that or stress. -shrugs-

aralia tutela

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**EDIT:** i just realized i didn't put this in. the song that harry and hermione are singing is 'mr. mistoffoles', from cats, a broadway play by andrew lloyd weber. i DID NOT make it up, though i'd be highly complemented of you thought i did, as i totally love cats.


	8. Chapter 8

Draco sat on the table in the kitchen, feet swinging absently as he stared into a cup of black coffee. Glancing up suddenly, his eye was caught by the shimmer of light down the blade of a kitchen knife stored on the wall. 'Why not?' he thought, rather sardonically, 'If anything happens, the elf will keep me alive long enough for the others to decide what to do with me. Even if it's just a shallow grave in the backyard, I don't really care at the moment.'

"Elf," he snapped out suddenly.

"Master Draco is calling me?" Draco looked at him with a shark-like grin.

"I presume that you know the Heir's Meditation?" he asked, referring to the practice of Dark families to teach this particular meditation technique to those who would inherit, 'to get them used to the sensation at a young age'. He rolled his eyes slightly. More like because their fathers were sadistic fucks. But once mastered, it did calm the mind like nothing else, besides sex, maybe. Kreacher bowed.

"Of course, Master Malfoy, sir. Yous is wishing it?"

"Yes." Kreacher bowed, presenting him with a selection of ornamental daggers that he had obviously spent a lot of time taking care of. He selected three, and closing his eyes, tossed the first one up in the air.

Ten minutes later, there were 15 knives flying through the air inches from his face, and his eyes were still closed, his face peaceful for the first time since his screw-up.

Harry hit the doorway of the kitchen and stopped in shock. Draco sat on the edge of the table, feet swinging like a child, and he was _juggling_ with at least a dozen very sharp looking _knives, _each with a blade the length of his hand. Kreacher sat on the stove, watching him attentively, but not worriedly. He looked up at Harry's footstep, and was at his side in a flash.

"Master Harry mustn't disturb him, or he's killing himself!" Harry nodded, wide eyed, entirely too able to see that happening. Peering confusedly at Draco, he wondered why the blond hadn't noticed his presence, until he realized that his eyes were closed. 'Juggling knives big enough to bloody well split him open, with his eyes closed. Are we sure Draco is still sane?' He saw something red, and noticed with horror that the tips of the blades were slicing his hands as he caught them and threw them again. Hermione started to say something from behind her, but he quickly turned and shushed her, moving so she could see what had entranced him. She gasped, but made no comment. Draco darted a hand out of the pattern to snap his fingers, and one of the blades vanished, reappearing at Kreacher's side. He repeated the gesture every couple of minutes, each signaling the elf to vanish another blade. Harry couldn't see how he could keep up with which blades he was still juggling, with his eyes still closed. When he was down to two, he caught them by the handle and opened his eyes, jumping when he noticed his audience. He set the knives down quickly, apparently unaware of the blood now collecting in his palms.

"What was that?" Harry asked softly, awe and worry vying for dominance in his eyes. Draco shrugged casually, but his eyes glowed with pleasure at Harry's look. No matter what was going on in his mind, Harry obviously cared about him.

"I don't know what the actual name of it is, but among the families," _dark families_, he meant, and he could see that Harry had gotten that, though it appeared that the Mudblood hadn't, "it's just called the Heir's Meditation. Apparently it's supposed to 'get us used to the feeling of juggling knives from an early age' so we won't falter in our plans." He rolled his eyes. "It's hard to learn, but when you do, it clears the mind like nothing else, not sex, not alcohol, not drugs. I've been proficient at it since I was 4." He smirked at the look on their faces.

Harry stepped forwards quietly, and pressed a quickly conjured cloth to the palms of Draco's hands, while said person looked down at them in shock. He hadn't realized he'd been cut. Well, that explained the worry. He looked back into Harry's eyes, and could've sworn that there was lust shining in his eyes as he looked down at the bloodied fabric. Apparently, Hermione noticed it too.

"Harry!" she said sharply. He looked up, startled. He winced and looked faintly ashamed at the look in her eyes, then stepped away from Draco, motioning for her to finish binding the small wounds, and Draco frowned. He reached out the hand that Hermione wasn't working on, and touched his cheek gently, surprised when he neither leaned into or flinched away from the caress, merely closed his eyes as Draco's fingers slid across his skin. Then he opened them again, and stared into Draco's eyes for a moment before looking away.

'Uh-oh. I know that look. Harry's conditioning from those wretched people he was forced to live with is kicking in again.' He'd seen a couple of those episodes before, and they completely infuriated him, both because Harry'd been left there at all, and because Harry still subconsciously _believed_ those fearful lies and jibes about his 'unnaturalness' and being a 'freak'. He couldn't believe that Granger would have done something that would set it off though. Suddenly seeing Draco's anger, Harry smiled reassuringly, but it didn't chase the shadows from his eyes.

He abruptly pulled away from Hermione's ministrations, ignoring her protests.

"Harry. We need to talk." Harry nodded, and Hermione pursed her lips, about to protest again, but was ignored as Draco swept Harry out of the room.  
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Draco's hands felt so warm against his skin, Harry could only sigh and lean into the gentle stroke against his cheek, his eyes fluttering closed as Draco maneuvered him onto the bed so he was sitting with his back against the corner. He leaned back slightly against the walls, listening to Draco move as he settled himself on his knees on front of him. Draco had him pinned between the walls and his knees, but he didn't feel trapped. Soft fingers touched his jaw, followed by Draco's slightly chapped lips, touching lightly across his, then pressing for a more passionate kiss, sliding his hands up to cup his jaw. Harry vaguely noticed his slightly damp palms, but he was so focused on the kiss that it took him several long, blissful moments for it to connect. He jerked back, hitting his head against the walls hard, his eyes wide, staring at Draco's bare hands fearfully, but there was a predatory lust growing in his eyes.

"Why are you afraid, Harry? You like it, don't you?" The second question came out so flatly that it was not a question at all anymore. Harry was trembling slightly from his conflicting desires, and Draco didn't really expect to get an answer.

"I do like it. That's what scares me." He took one of Draco's hands into his own, gently tracing his fingers around the red slashes. They weren't really bleeding anymore, but the skin was broken, and you could vaguely see the muscles through the film of blood that hovered at the edge of the cuts, but didn't spill onto the surrounding skin.

"The fact that you like blood frightens you?" Harry nodded. "Why? It's a natural impulse. It's not like you're out of control, cutting or something. What do you want to do?" Harry blinked. "When you see blood, what do you want to do?" He looked at Harry measuringly, while Harry stared at him. "Do it. You can do anything you like to me. I trust you." Harry closed his eyes briefly, shudders running through his body, and Draco knew he was trying to summon up the will to push away and leave, but he didn't. "Harry. Don't. Just do it. Don't be afraid, I'm not." Harry lifted his hand to his mouth, running his tongue gently across his marred palm. Draco gasped, and Harry looked up at him quickly, afraid that he'd hurt him. Draco smiled gently and lifted his hand slightly, refocusing his attention on it, and he gently kissed the fingertips before returning to the palm, tracing each slice with his tongue.

A dismayed exclamation from the hall brought their attention to the fact that Draco had forgotten to close the door; Hermione was standing in the hallway, a dismayed expression on her face. Draco's jaw clenched; he knew she was about to say something specially designed to make Harry hate himself for giving in to his bloodlust.

"Not a word, Granger. Don't you say one damn word." She looked shocked. "Just shut the door, will you?" Nothing. "Fine then. _Colloportus_." The door slammed shut in her face, the charm he had placed on it when he had moved his belongings there automatically locking it once it was closed. "Now then, where were we, Harry?" He expected Harry to either try to flee, or return his gaze to his slightly bloodied hands, but Harry grinned, and pounced on him, shoving him onto his back and placing himself firmly on top. 'Somewhere, there's a panther that wants its grin back,' he thought absently, as Harry's fingers wrapped around his wrists, trapping his hands against his shoulders. Harry was firmly straddled across Draco, his eyes nearly black with lust as he gazed down on the helpless blonde. Draco met his eyes fearlessly, his eyes shimmering silver with a pure, unhidden enjoyment that Harry couldn't recall every being there before. Even when Draco had made love to him that first night, there had been a tinge of wistfulness to them, which Harry now knew was due to his desire for more than 'just a good fuck'.

Harry lowered his mouth to Draco's neck, biting lightly, enjoying the way it made him gasp. He frowned, as Draco's shirt prevented him from tracing his collarbone, then snarled his pleasure as it vanished, leaving him free to explore the pale skin.

Draco lay quiescent beneath him, hands still pinned by his shoulders, more than willing to allow Harry to take whatever he wanted, as the door creaked open, Hermione finally working her way through the layered locking charms. Harry was too intent to notice her entrance, as he was currently tracing bites up Draco's stomach, but Draco turned his head to glare at her. This move brought Harry's attention from his self-appointed task, and he met Hermione's eyes with the feral passion that had been building in him since Draco said he could do as he wished with him. She took an instinctive step back at the intensity of his gaze, and Draco smirked, quite sure that they both saw it, as Hermione's mouth tightened, and Harry smirked back at him, leaning down to lick a long line up the side of his neck, making him shiver. Hermione apparently decided to ignore him, focusing on Harry.

"Harry, I know you want this right now, the blood excited you, and you're not thinking clearly. But when your mind clears, you'll be guilty, tomorrow-"

"He won't be guilty unless you and the Weasel go after him, mudblood," he exclaimed angrily, the names falling easily from his lips for the first time since his father had been put in jail. She drew back as though struck. "And if you show the slightest hint of trying to convince him that his bloodlust is wrong, which you've obviously been doing, then I _will_ hide him away, and let you and your boyfriend make do on your own." There was no hint of compromise in his icy tones. He didn't think she'd heed his warning, as she'd be working 'for Harry's good' but he had to warn her, otherwise it wouldn't be fair of him to take Harry away at the first sign of trouble, which he totally planned to do.

She turned on him suddenly. "You don't want his first time with you to be when he's out of control, do you? He-"

"He is not out of control. He's taken control like he has because I gave him permission, and told him that I didn't think his bloodlust would hurt me." He snorted, and muttered, "Besides, it wouldn't be the first time, now would it?" Harry grinned fiercely, apparently past embarrassment. The lust in his eyes had died down some with the lack of action, and Draco found he missed the dark intensity, apparently sparked only by anger and lust. Harry licked over the cuts on Draco's hands again.

"They've all closed up now," he said, smiling quietly.

"Yes. I can feel that they have," Draco murmured back. "Will you let go of my hands now?"

"If you wish." Harry tilted his head curiously. Draco nodded, and Harry released him, smiling as his hands immediately moved to twist in his hair, pulling him into a kiss. Harry pulled away and slid his body down suddenly, causing Draco to gasp as he brushed against his erection, which had not diminished at all in Hermione's presence, and laid his head on Draco's chest, tilting his head slightly to lick at a nipple before settling. After a couple of minutes of silence, though, he raised his head again, looking irritated.

"Hermione, get out of here unless you want a show," He raised an eyebrow at Draco to ask if this declaration was all right with him. Draco simply smirked at the astonished look on her face. He suspected that Harry had never been so forward about any of his girlfriends. Ron, his attention called by the use of his girlfriend's name as he walked by, stopped to peek in the doorway, closing his eyes with a squeak once he realized exactly what had been interrupted.

"Hermione! Have you no decency?! How can you just stand there? Come on!" He grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the room, asking harshly just what she thought she was doing bothering them when they were obviously otherwise occupied. Harry grinned as he absently flicked the door closed again. Trust Ron to turn up at a pivotal moment. Either just the right moment, or just the wrong moment was always when Ron turned up, it seemed like.

"Now, where were we?" he purred, and Draco shivered at the huskiness of his voice. "Ah yes, I think we were about here." He leaned down to capture Draco's lips again.

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hehe. i thought it was about time harry got a chance to be in control. notice that draco does not mind at all.

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like i said in my note, which i've removed, this one is undergoing editing to remove oddness that didn't fit right. i have nothing against oddness, but this wasn't in line with the story at all and i have no idea where it came from. i think i have that finished though, i just need to re-read it one more time. so look for another update soon. thank you for your patience!

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just for the record, the 'heir's meditation' is one bit of crack that i decided fit well enough and left. the other bit, i trashed. please let me know what you think of the meditation technique. and yes, i know it would be damn hard to meditate while doing something at complicated as juggling knives. that's why draco said their fathers, who presumably are the ones who taught it to them, were sadistic. because i'm sure there were alot, and serious, injuries to the young children learning. i'm not approving it, just saying that's how it worked in their little world. and i got the mental image of draco sitting on a table juggling knives, and i really liked it. this is just where it came out.

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thank you to all of you who expressed sympathy, you have no idea how much that meant to me, that complete strangers would care enough to say anything. when i posted the note, i honestly didn't expect any response, except maybe from a few of my friends.

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**REVIEWS INSPIRE ME!!**


	9. Chapter 9

ok, in this chapter, you get an explanation of some of the terms i've been using in the past couple of chapters, but other than that, it's filler, really. sorry.

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Draco sat down at the end of the table beside Harry, Ron and Hermione sitting down somewhat uncomfortably opposite them. There was an awkward silence, as Hermione was still upset, and Ron was feeling rather awkward; It was one thing for him to know that his best friend was into blokes; it was quite another to walk in on him in an intimate position with one. Harry glanced at them, then turned his attention to Draco, who was apparently the only one comfortable in his presence.

"Ja thinks we shoulda ate in our room?" Draco smirked.

"No, not really. Though I had hoped they'd have gotten over it by now. I should have known I wouldn't be that lucky." Harry slid their chairs together and curled against him, causing him to smile. "Then again, I think my luck's expended itself just getting me you." He leaned in and kissed Harry's lips tenderly. "And I'd put up with quite a bit more than this to keep you," he whispered into Harry's ear, causing him to blush, especially as he followed the sweet words with a kiss. Hermione blushed brightly. Harry hadn't been kidding or uninformed when he'd assured Draco that she thought gay guys were hot. Ron was making fake gagging noises, as he always did when anyone around him was kissing or acting 'couple-y'.

Breakfast was quiet for the most part; only Draco felt comfortable enough in the tense atmosphere to talk much. Hermione wouldn't be able to talk sensibly around Harry until she'd gotten her lecture out of the way; it was just the way she was wired, she had to correct what she saw as faults in her best friends. And Ron was looking between Hermione and Harry with a faintly puzzled look on his face, as if he couldn't imagine what was between them.

'Apparently he either doesn't know about Harry's bloodlust, or he doesn't know that Granger has a problem with it.' Draco'd be willing to bet it was the latter, as most people raised in the wizarding world accepted the bloodlust as natural and an acceptable source of strength during battle, and stress relief after -so long as they were in control of it, anyway. Rape was still rape, bloodlust or no, but other than that, there weren't many problems with it in wizarding society. But apparently, muggles had all kinds of restrictions on what were 'proper sexual relations', and apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Granger were 'good, decent folk', and had instilled their values deeply in their only daughter. Draco snorted. 'More like, they were closed-minded fools, and they instilled their stupidity in her.' He knew she was just waiting for the chance to catch Harry alone to lecture him. Maybe he'd help her out with that, take Weasley aside and let him know how she was bringing up Harry's old insecurities with her protests of the bloodlust, and allow her enough time to get into lecturing Harry and give him an excuse to take him away.

* * *

Harry sighed as he sat once again at the table they had arranged their research on. He was heartily bored with research, and the tenseness between him and Hermione was getting to him. He almost wished that she would lecture him already, just to get it out of the way. Draco glanced at him, then cleared his throat.

"Weasley, could I have a moment?" Ron looked puzzled but followed him out of the library. Draco smirked slightly. "Have you any idea exactly what your girlfriend's upset about this morning?" Ron shook his head. The smirk widened. "Allow me to enlighten you. Harry has the bloodlust." Ron nodded. "Granger, apparently thinks it's disgusting and unnatural, and is doing her best to make him think that controlling it means totally repressing it, because of her restrictive muggle morals." Ron paled. Draco nodded, and turned to return to the library before Hermione could do too much damage to Harry's mind.

Hermione was standing facing the fire, seemingly unaware of Harry's defensive huddle in his chair. Draco's jaw tightened. He had apparently underestimated her ability to make Harry doubt himself. He strode quickly and pulled Harry up out of the chair and into his arms, wrapping them securely against Harry's instinctive fight.

"I'm not letting go of you," he whispered into Harry's ear, and he calmed, relaxing against Draco's chest, burying his face against Draco's shoulder. Ron, who had entered behind him, took in his defensive posture, and the way Harry was curled into his embrace, and turned furiously to Hermione, pulling her away from the boys. While she was distracted, Draco pulled Harry in front of the fire. "I warned you that I would not allow you to disturb him. You really should have listened." He tossed a handful of floo powder into the fire, "Ministry," and he pulled Harry through.

'Ministry' turned out to be, not the Ministry of Magic, but a nightclub. Draco smirked at Harry's surprised look.

"It's somewhere they'll never look. It'll be safe here, and you can relax. I've wanted to take you clubbing anyway, you've been so tense lately. Now, let's go talk to Jimmy and get a room for a week or so." Harry's face clouded over indecisively. "We'll go back after that, but you need to relax, and I need to get you away from that bitch before she does any more damage to your mind."

"Don't call her that," Harry protested.

"I wouldn't call her that if she weren't acting like one. I mean it Harry; I'm not going to allow her to hurt you, especially over something that wizarding society deems perfectly natural and normal, so long as it's controlled. Notice I said controlled, not suppressed. So long as your partner's willing, nobody has any problems with it. And I'm most definitely willing." This last was whispered intimately, lips brushing against Harry's ear, causing him to shiver.

* * *

Hermione was panicking. Her well-thought-out, reasoned lecture to Harry on the need to control his urges at the sight of blood had caused Draco to take Harry away, and Ron was so angry he couldn't even stay in the same room with her. He had spewed some garbled protests that the bloodlust was perfectly normal, and that anyone raised in the wizarding world knew that, and about her driving Harry and Draco away before storming off. Now she was sitting on her heels in front of the fire, speaking with the only person she had been able to think of to help her. Remus Lupin.

"-And he called 'Ministry' before he flooed out, but I couldn't follow him, and I have no idea where he'd go from there, and-" Remus laughed.

"'Mione. Calm down. I think I know where they are. But we can't get there until this evening, as you've found. Move back, I'm coming through." She hurriedly moved away from the fireplace, but still almost got stepped on as he came through. He pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry 'Mione, if Draco's as protective of him as you say, he won't take him anywhere dangerous."

* * *

The lights spun crazily around the dance floor, blinding her. She moved to the side, attempting to adjust, the music pounding in her ears as she tried to make out more than the vague shapes of people. A low chuckle had her turning to Remus, who was pointing along one wall, to where there was a small group of people lounging, watched rather covetously by the other patrons.

"Well, we found them. The problem will be getting close enough to talk to them." He laughed, and took her arm, pulling her towards them. Hermione was about to protest when her eyes snapped into focus suddenly, and she saw Draco -wearing a pair of tight leather pants, shiny black combat boots, and arm cuffs, and nothing else- holding Harry, who was at least wearing a shirt -an extremely tight tank- with his baggy jeans, though he seemed to have lost his shoes, comfortably on his lap. Suddenly, Harry's eyes met hers, wordlessly connecting for a long moment before he turned to whisper something in Draco's ear. Draco stiffened slightly, then relaxed again, whispering back before turning to one of the women standing nearby, a light glowing in one of his hands for a moment as he spoke. Remus swore. "He's alerted the Valkyries. We might as well give up, we're not getting to them tonight."

"Valkyries?" Remus motioned to the women standing and lounging around the platform, all with floor-length braids bound with strips of leather, wearing only formfitting leather pants and something that looked to Hermione like a leather sports bra.

"The elite's guard. Pretty much, they're bouncers and bodyguards. They deal with any disruptions, and keep the masses away from the rulers of the club, of which Draco is obviously one."

"How do you know that Draco is?"

"Because if he weren't, he wouldn't have been able to floo here until after 7 either. Besides, he's up there, with Harry in his lap. If he weren't, the only way he'd be up on the dais is if he was at the feet of one of the rulers. Obviously, he's not." Indeed, he had just collected another little groupie, sitting at his feet, while Harry was sprawled carelessly across his lap. As they spoke, a strong hand closed around Hermione's arm, and jerked her forwards. She looked up into the hard eyes of one of the women she had just been talking about.

"You're wanted," she said shortly, half-dragging her towards the dais. Remus followed behind the two women, allowing the Valkyrie to part the crowds for him. He chuckled again at Hermione's face when they reached the dais; Draco now had three slim young men at his feet, and another had slid into his lap with Harry, who he was cradling tenderly, dropping kisses down his neck, and making it obvious that although all of them had given themselves to him, Harry was his favorite. To his eyes at least, as it was obvious Hermione didn't see it that way. All she saw, he guessed, was how Draco was allowing the other men -and a couple of women too, hovering at his shoulders- to attend on him so intimately.

"Hermione," he whispered into her ear, "Watch how he's treating Harry. Ignore the others for a moment, just focus on how he's treating Harry, then compare that to how he's treating the others. He's barely paying attention to them, right?" she nodded reluctantly. "He's only paying attention to Harry, the others are merely being allowed to express their admiration for him. I doubt that it they will be allowed to be remotely sexual. But that's how the leaders are decided here. Popularity. The more people fawn on you, the more control you have of what's happening. If he were to push them away, he would loose power." Harry's head fell to Draco's shoulder, and he tilted his head and kissed his lips, then trailed his lips down his neck again. The other man in his lap leaned his head on the other shoulder, obviously hoping for the same treatment. Draco smirked and nipped the side of his neck before returning his attention to Harry, who moaned softly as Draco slid one hand into his faded black jeans. He looked up suddenly as the woman pulled Hermione before him, and his face darkened.

"Granger. What are you doing here? I know very well that this is not somewhere you frequent," he asked coldly. Harry looked up at the name, his eyes meeting Hermione's sadly. He made a little shrug, as if to say he couldn't control Draco right now, writhing slightly at the unceasing movement of Draco's hand against his hard cock.

"I was wanting to talk to Harry," she eyed Harry uncertainly, wondering why he wasn't joining the conversation like he usually would. Remus, seeing her confusion, leaned over to whisper in her ear that he wasn't going to challenge Draco by taking over, because that would loose him prestige. She supposed that it also had something to do with the fact that Harry looked like he was restraining himself from crying out at Draco's touch by the thinnest of margins.

"That's too bad, Granger. You're not going to be having anything to do with him for at least the next 10 days." Hermione made a noise of protest. "Cut it. In my learned opinion, it will take that long to correct the damage you've done to his mind." Remus gasped. Draco turned his attention to him. "Yes, Lupin, mental damage. A combination of the abhorrent treatment from his relations, and her uninformed and unconsidered opinions." Harry leaned up to whisper in his ear. Draco nodded and stood, his hand sliding casually back into view, and he smirked as the other man in his lap was caught unawares, and almost fell before he caught himself. "Follow me, I don't wish to continue this discussion here." He swept Harry up in his arms, much to Remus' amusement, and his and Hermione's indignation, and carried him to a private room. Setting him comfortably on the bed, he pressed a kiss onto his forehead before he turned to sit himself. "I love you, babe. That's why I'm not going to allow them to hurt you anymore," he whispered into Harry's ear. Harry nodded and leaned back against the pile of pillows on the headboard, putting his bare feet in Draco's lap. Draco leaned back against the wall facing the two standing uncertainly before the bed, which was the only furnishing in the room, which clearly had only one purpose. Remus smirked at the uncertainty on Hermione's face, moving to sit against the wall. Harry smirked and held out a hand to him, sliding down enough to give the older man a place to sit, which he took gratefully. He wasn't twenty years old anymore, after all. Hermione stood uncertainly before them, unwilling to sit on the floor, and not invited to sit on the bed, not that there was any room for her unless Harry sat up, which he wasn't about to do. She slowly moved to lean back against the wall.

"So, Professor Lupin, do enlighten us: what is bloodlust, and the popular opinions on it," Draco said imperiously.

"First off, I'm not a professor any more. Just my name, if you please. Either one is fine, considering where we are. Now, the bloodlust . . . well, it's associated with an intense lust at the sight of blood, especially the blood of someone the affected person is close to. Notice I said affected, not afflicted," he continued at Draco's irritation at the similarity of the words; he had heard afflicted the first time, "It is known to give strength during a battle, the common theory behind that is that it may be necessary for the affected person to defend the injured person, and thus need more strength and endurance. As long as the affected person has it under control, and doesn't go out and rape someone while under the bloodlust, or cause harm to someone who is unwilling just to see the blood, then it is commonly accepted as a magical trait, just like any other. It is not looked down on, or considered in any way unnatural." Draco nodded.

"Thank you, sir. Now, the reason I've taken him away is that Harry has the bloodlust, and Granger has been attempting to convince him that it is dirty and wrong, based on the morals of her muggle parents. Her opinion means a lot to him, and when she started convincing him that a part of him was wrong and unnatural, it opened all the old wounds inflicted by those insufferable muggles. On a subconscious level, they convinced him that he is unnatural and a freak, and when someone he loved and trusted began telling him the same thing . . .." He shook his head, enjoying the look of horror on her face. Really, he had warned her. Remus stood up again, apparently too antsy to sit still.

"Relax, Moony. We're safe here." Remus turned to face him again. "He's the Prince." His eyes widened, and flicked to Draco, who nodded slightly. He was the one in supreme control of the club, and had been since about six months after he had started attending. Hermione took one look at the understanding look on Remus' face, and determined to get him to explain it to her. Draco smirked.

"I'm tired of talking to you now. Go away." And he pounced atop Harry, who giggled, not paying any attention to where Remus was forcibly dragging Hermione through the door, not that she was struggling much, but he wasn't giving her the chance to do anything but follow.

"What if they want to talk again?" Harry asked, then gasped as Draco ran a line of nipping kisses down his neck.

"The Valkyries will take a message, and we can get back to them if we want. That's how it's always done when one of the masses wants to talk to me," Draco said arrogantly, though his grin belied his tone. Harry nodded and put the matter from his mind, not that this was difficult, since Draco was now earnestly attacking.


	10. Chapter 10

Hermione sat at the bar, feeling distinctly overdressed, though she thought that Remus would look rather hot, if only he were closer to her age. She sighed; she was so confused. She turned to Remus, thinking to demand an explanation of him, but was rather effectively interrupted.

"Moonchild! Baby, where ya been!?" A lithe youngish looking man planted himself in Remus' lap, straddling across his legs and leaning in to kiss him firmly. Remus shrugged.

"Eh, you know how it is for me. Scrambling to try to make things work; just haven't had the time -or the cash- to get down here. Matter of fact, only reason I'm here now is because of this lovely lady." He gestured to Hermione. The man turned and looked her over, frowning slightly.

"_What_ are you _wearing_, girl?!" he exclaimed, then sighed dramatically. "As I'm deeply indebted to you for bringing Moon here, I suppose the best way to repay you is with a makeover; you might even get some followers of your own if you play it right, you got the looks for it." He grabbed her hand, dragging her back down the hall, up a staircase, and into a room that looked much more lived in than the one Draco had taken them to.

"How long you here, Aster?" Remus asked curiously. Aster grinned.

"Paid up 'till tha enda tha year, Moonchild. _And,_" he winked flirtatiously; "I've got tha cash for a roommate, if you're interested." Remus looked thoughtful. Grinning, Aster turned back to Hermione, who was standing nervously beside the bed. He spun her around, nearly making her fall, then turned to rummage through his wardrobe. He quickly transfigured her soft green three-quarter sleeved shirt into one of the same basic design, but a lot more formfitting, with rhinestones around the square, low-cut neckline, turning her bra invisible almost in the same motion, and she exclaimed at how much of her breasts could be seen. "Hush, girl. I know what I'm doing." He turned his attention to her jeans, darkening them slightly and tightening them until she felt she would pop out.

Next, he yanked out the ponytail from her hair, pushing her down into a chair to style her hair. A muttered charm ran thin streaks of gold and silver through her vibrant auburn locks, and after a moment of thought, he also added hints of ruby-red, pulling it up into a twist, charming the rest into tiny ringlets of curls. She felt a difference in the pressure on her feet, and looked down to see that he had transfigured her sneakers into 3-inch stiletto boots, the hems of her jeans flaring to swirl around the top. Pulling her up again, he studied her intently.

"Alright girl, which gender do you go for?" he asked after another moment of scrutiny.

"Guys," she said flatly, getting rather irritated by his manhandling of her. He nodded, and waved his wand again, and a thick green ribbon attached itself to her throat, a small bow forming at the back of her neck.

"If you were into chicks, tha bow'd be at the front," he commented absently, digging through a drawer that apparently held jewelry, since every now and then he'd pull out a piece and hold it up, studying the styles before throwing it back in. "Or on the side of you were into both." Finally, he pulled out a thick chain, wrapping it around her wrist twice before connecting the links; it was tight enough that she couldn't get it off. "Platinum, you'd be an idiot to wear silver around here." She looked at Remus questioningly.

"I'm not the only wolf here, 'Mi." She nodded. Aster grabbed her chin.

"Hold still. And close your eyes." Moments later, he stepped back. "Anything I'm missing, Moon?" Remus looked her over, and moved to pull a silvery green crocheted wrap from the wardrobe.

"Ah! You found it!" He took it out of Remus' hands, wrapping the triangle of fabric so the point trailed down to her left knee, and tied it on the right hip.

"Don't take offence, 'Mi. He's like that with everyone. But he loves dressing people up, and he's really good at it. The whole 'I'm indebted to you' thing was just to you wouldn't argue with him." He glanced at the man leading them out of the room and chuckled. "I think your explanations are going to have to wait till tomorrow, though. At least. I'll come over as soon as I can." As soon as they hit the club proper, Aster grabbed Remus' arm and drew him onto the dance floor, leaving Hermione standing uncertainly at the edge.

"Wanna dance, baby?" A strong hand wrapped into hers before she could respond, pulling her onto the dance floor and up against a strongly muscled body. "Just relax, I'm not gonna bite ya," the voice chuckled in her ear. "Unless, of course, you want me to."

* * *

Draco looked out across the dance floor and chuckled suddenly. Harry looked at him curiously. "Granger sure cleans up good. And she's dancing with Kiron. Wonder how she got Bloody Aster to dress her though." He skimmed the crowd impatiently. "Ah, I see. Lupin got him to; they're dancing together now." 'Looking pretty familiar with each other, too.'

"Who's Kiron?" Harry murmured.

"Damn sight better match for her than Weasley, that's for sure. He's actually intelligent-"

"Hey!"

"-And he's kind, very even-tempered, but he doesn't allow people to keep their misconceptions. I think he enjoys shattering people's illusions. He never gets mad, but he stands up for himself and his opinions, where Weasley folds to her arguments without thinking about them."

"I sense a 'but' in there," Harry commented lightly. Draco snorted.

"'But', he's a vampire." Harry stiffened. "He's about as dangerous as Lupin," Draco reassured him quickly. Harry relaxed. "He's completely in control of it, and he makes sure to warn anyone he gets close to, before there is a possibility of a situation where instinct might take over, and he'd bite. And I don't think he's ever turned anyone, just fed." Harry nodded slowly. He knew she was completely devoted to Ron, but Ron wasn't really someone she could relax with. Two left feet, and all the social grace of an elephant in an antique shop, Ron left much to be desired as a companion somewhere like this, but at the same time, he often seemed a perfect balance to Hermione. He was everything she wasn't; quickfire and enthusiastic to her logical reasoning, athletic to her studiousness . . ..

Draco pulled Harry up, grabbing his hand -"Let's go dance!"- and dragged him out onto the dance floor before he could protest. Fortunately, it was a slow song, and Harry relaxed against Draco's tight grip of his body, twining his arms around Draco's neck as they kissed, doing little more in the way of actual dancing than a soft sway back and forth.

-

Hours later, Harry was leaning against Draco again, though now it was out of the exhausted need for something to support him. Draco smiled softly, pressing a kiss into his hair, causing Harry to tighten his arms sleepily around his neck.

"Hey Kiron. You'll have fun with that one," Draco commented idly, gesturing to where Hermione had gone to get a drink across the mostly deserted room. The club was open until it's Prince gave up, but most of the other patrons had turned to other amusements long ago, leaving the main section mostly in 2's and 3's.

"Oh? And why is that, Draco?"

"She's set in her ways," Harry murmured sleepily, eyes cracked open just long enough to see who he was talking to. Draco grimaced.

"That's a kind way of putting it."

"You know me, Drake. And she's one of my best friends." Kiron raised his eyebrow at the use of a nickname that Draco had never allowed anyone to use before. Draco sighed and gently stroked his hair.

"I know, Har'." 'That's what scares me. I'll be very glad if she takes up with Kiron, he'll burst her out of her control bubble before it hurts someone permanently.' Kiron looked at Draco questioningly, eyes flicking to Harry. "Harry, wake up some."

"Dun' wanna," Harry whined.

"Harry, I need you to wake up. C'mon, if you don't wake up, you'll forget and you know it." Harry sighed petulantly and opened his eyes, blinking sleepily.

"What time is it, anyway?" Kiron chuckled.

"The sun is about to rise," he answered softly, unconsciously moving further away from the graying windows. Draco smirked at him as Harry yawned and rubbed his face, almost knocking his glasses off.

"Way too damn early to be up. Whatcha want, Drake?"

"Technically, it's too late to be up. And I wanted to introduce you to Kiron." Harry pouted at him.

"You made me wake up just so you could introduce me to someone?! You could have later, y'know." Draco merely grinned, knowing Harry wasn't really even irritated at him.

"If I may?" he said pointedly, and Harry stuck his tongue out, gasping as Draco sucked it into his mouth. "Don't stick it out if you don't plan to use it," he warned lightly. "_Anyway,_ Harry, this is Kiron Angelos Sangre. Kiron, this is my companion, Harry James Potter." Kiron's eyes widened at the formal introduction, and the word 'companion'. He bowed slightly.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter. Kiron Sangre, at your service." Harry nodded to him, then turned to Draco.

"Can we go to bed now?!" he pleaded. Draco chuckled.

"I suppose. If you'll excuse us, Kiron?" Kiron nodded, and watched the two of them disappear, so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice Hermione approach until she touched his arm.


	11. Chapter 11

Jut a little shot from Ron's point of view. I'll have more out fairly soon. I think. Bare with me, I'm working on the next chapter as fast as my capricious muse will let me.

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Ron paced in front of the empty fireplace in his room. Hermione had stayed out all night, coming back after dawn and more than a little drunk, and all she would tell him was that Draco would bring Harry back in ten days. At the time, he had put it down to her being exhausted, but even after she had woken and ate, he still couldn't get her to tell him any more. It was frustrating. His girlfriend was keeping secrets from him and he wanted to know why.

It didn't help that she had disappeared again about seven every evening since then. The first night, he hadn't even known she was leaving until he was looking for her later that night, hoping to spend some time with her, and Kreacher had informed him that she had left by floo. It had been seven days since that first mysterious disappearance, and he was getting tired of it. Looking out the window, he saw the grayness in the sky that preceded sunrise, and headed towards the library. He had told Kreacher to alert him when Hermione got there, unless he met her, and he had a feeling that she would be back any time now.

He was right. She was just stepping out of the floo when he stepped out of the shadowing bookcases. Her eyes flew open, and she gasped, obviously startled to see him.

"What, surprised?" he asked ironically. "One would think that you would expect your boyfriend to be worried when you leave without warning and stay out all night without explanation. Especially when you're doing it for as long as you have been."

"Are you saying you think I'm cheating on you!?" she asked indignantly. He shrugged.

"I'm saying I don't know what I'm supposed to think, when you're out at all hours, and keeping secrets from me. If you'd talk to me, I'd know what was going on, but as it is, I can only come up with scenarios, and you cheating on me is unfortunately one scenario that fits the facts." He said it without a trace of apology in his voice, waiting to see how she would react.

Her face reddened angrily, and Ron thought absently that she looked even more beautiful with the angry blush across her cheeks. "Well, fine then, Ronald Weasley, if that's what you think's going on, nothing I can say will dissuade you anyway!" Ron blinked in confusion, because he had just said that he didn't want to think that, and the only reason he'd even implied he did was because she was keeping secrets from him, so he didn't see how she would take that as a sign he wouldn't believe her. She ignored it, however, storming out of the room, to the bedroom she had used last summer, before they got together, locking the door tightly behind her.

Ron dropped heavily into a chair, burying his face in his hands. How did things get so out of control? He had Hermione had been happy together, or at least he'd thought she'd been happy. He knew he'd been. Then, one shock after another, and he'd had shoved in his face that although she appeared accepting on the surface, she was actually heavily prejudiced, in ways he hadn't noticed before, but now couldn't see how he'd missed it. Like Harry's bloodlust. When they had found out, she had seemed to accept it, like he had, as just another quality that made up Harry. To find out that she was trying to force him to repress it, because of some muggle idea of decency made his blood boil. That her actions had caused Draco to take his best mate away from him only made it worse. At least his reactions had been honest. She was hiding from them. Hiding everything important.

Did he even really know her? So much of what he had thought about her had been proven false, or misinterpreted. He sighed. He knew he loved her, but if this was any indication, it probably wouldn't last much longer. Not the way things were going now. Not when he had a sneaking suspicion that she was cheating on him. There really wasn't any other reason that she wouldn't tell him where she was going every night, and she was only so defensive if she thought she was doing something wrong. If she were just visiting Harry without him, surely she would have told him, and he didn't honestly thing she would be. Having just had her prejudices shoved in her face, her usual reaction would be to study and try to figure out how she was wrong, not spend time with the person who caused it to be pointed out to her.

At this point, he wished Draco had taken him away too, instead of leaving him here with Hermione, which in itself was a pretty bad sign of how things were going. He had never been particularly fond of Draco, never understood him or why he did the things he did. Though, if Harry liked him enough to get together with him, he must not be that bad. He curled up in the chair, resting his head on one arm, and fell asleep, too dispirited to bother going back up to his bed.


	12. Chapter 12

This story is on hiatus until further notice while I figure out where I'm going with it. Reviews with comments/suggestions/ideas inspire me! *hint hint nudge nudge* I'm really sorry to those of you watching this story, but in the last two weeks, this is as far as I've gotten. I think it's safe to say this story's going to be going a lot slower until I get into a rhythm again, and now that most of the short-term problems are at least on the way to being solved, I need to figure out how I'm going to handle the overall plotline. I don't want this to drift off into nowhere.

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Harry curled up in Draco's arms, just enjoying their last night out. Draco had been right, he really had needed the break, the chance to relax and just be Harry for a while, without all the responsibility that was normally on his shoulders. A finger touched gently to his shoulder, and he turned to smile up at Kiron. The vampire had quickly become his confidante, as he was for Draco. He had told Kiron things that he was afraid to tell his boyfriend, afraid he would be disgusted with him, but each time, when Kiron persuaded him to tell the blond, Draco had only held him close, and whispered that he was grateful that Harry trusted him with this information, this new knowledge of his secret self. And each time, his faith in the blond had grown, as well as his faith in himself.

"Would you and his lordship go dance already? Any idiot can tell you're both dying to." Harry grinned up at the big man and turned to whisper in Draco's ear. Draco smirked at him, and pulled a willing Harry out onto the dance floor.

Kiron smiled agreeably, then noticed that Hermione was getting too close to the royal duo. Draco had asked him to use whatever method necessary to keep her away from Harry, and he had agreed. That was what you did when the Prince asked something of you. He didn't see why though; she seemed a nice enough girl, if a bit serious. And she was pretty enough that, if it came down to 'any method', he wouldn't be averse to seducing her should she become determined to get near his friends. Plus, he'd enjoy watching the fallout if he did; he was sure that she would panic in the morning. She seemed the type to want to save her virginity for her wedding night. He wasn't going to hurt her unless it became absolutely necessary. Then again, he couldn't see her becoming enough of a threat that he would need to. It wasn't like she was one of the Valkyries or anything. He put on a charming smile and slipped unnoticed through the crowd, grabbing her elbow and pulling her up against him before she got within Harry's line of sight. Her eyes brightened when she saw him, and he mused that he wouldn't even have to work at it to seduce her, as she was obviously deeply fascinated by him. He pulled her into a dance, touching his lips to hers ever so quickly.

'On such gestures are kingdoms built,' Kiron thought smugly as she melted against him. 'She really is far too naive to be here. Though, Harry was just as naïve at first, and he fits in pretty well now.' But that was the thing; by now, it wasn't likely that Hermione _would _learn to fit in, while Harry was adaptable enough to fit in anywhere once he understood it.

* * *

Harry stepped through the floo, after keying Kiron into the wards, so he didn't have to try to bring the big man through with him. Draco had taught him how over their break. He had taught a lot of fun and interesting things. Apparently, studying was something his father had strongly encouraged his interest in.

The first thing he saw was Hermione's startled face, as she appeared to have been about to floo out. Her eyes brightened, and she flung her arms around him just as Draco stepped through the floo. He immediately yanked Harry out of her arms and into his. Harry rolled his eyes, but cuddled into Draco's embrace. Ron came in, alerted by a sullen Kreacher, and pounded Harry happily on the shoulder in greeting. Then Kiron stepped through the floo, moving to wrap an arm around Draco's shoulders, and Hermione stepped back a pace, eyes wide. Ron looked between them suspiciously.

Kiron smiled ferally, assessing the behavior between Hermione and the redhead, who was obviously her boyfriend from his defensive stance. He could play this two ways, so far as he could see.

"Ah, Kiron, this is Ronald Weasley, Weasley, Kiron Sangre." Harry rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything at the lack of introduction, since they both knew that Kiron and Hermione had already met, though he knew it would appear rude to Ron.

"It is ever my pleasure to meet Harry and Draco's friends," he said smoothly, responding to the hint of mischief in Draco's voice. The redhead shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't know if I'd go so far as to call us friends, me and Draco" he said slowly. "This is my girlfriend, Hermione." Kiron's smile widened as he took the excuse to claim her hand, brushing a deceptively simple kiss across the back of it.

"I've already had the honor of her acquaintance, though it would have been nice if she'd told me she was taken." Hermione blushed dark red. "Not that she's really my type, but it would have been nice to know. I don't flirt quite as much with the taken ones." Draco snorted.

"I never noticed a difference." Kiron grinned at him.

"I said not as much. I didn't say it was a _lot _less." Harry giggled at their banter, though Ron and Hermione looked slightly confused. Kiron and Draco exchanged a smirk.


	13. Chapter 13

Another short chapter, sorry, but I've been working on this since the last update. The problem is that I have no outline for where to go now. I need to wrap things up somehow, but I haven't figured out how.

--

The club from previous chapters was questioned, and I just wanted to say that yes, I really do know that it's about impossible. It was just an image that wouldn't go away. It's a bit of the crack that worked it's way into this story that amused me enough to keep. I especially liked the Valkyries. They're awesome, and I actually think that they're rather close to a modern translation of what they originally were. Well, besides the fact that they weren't club bouncers, lol.

* * *

Draco was seated comfortably in a low chair in a little alcove near the fireplace, Harry curled on a cushion leaning against his legs. Hermione wasn't happy with the submissive pose, but she knew it was her fault for sparking the incident that had caused him to get used to it. Draco stroked Harry's hair soothingly, and Harry looked close to falling asleep, his book dangling forgotten from his fingers.

Draco's fingers tightened in Harry's hair as Kiron approached them, and Harry sat up with a small gasp. Hermione frowned at this casual hurting Harry, even if Harry seemed to accept it, even expect it. Kiron was looking at the ground instead of at Harry and Draco, which sparked her interest. Kiron was the most straightforward person she knew, more than Ron even, because he didn't even try to hide what he was thinking and feeling.

"Draco, Harry, I must ask a favor-"

"Yes," Harry said simply, not even waiting for Kiron to finish.

"You don't even know what I was going to say," Kiron said grumpily. Harry shrugged.

"What else would make you fight so with yourself?" Harry asked, a slight smile on his face, and Kiron shrugged, conceding the point. Harry rose, pulling Draco to his feet as well. "Not here, though." Kiron nodded, following the two from the room. Hermione sighed in frustration. The conversation hadn't done anything except confuse her further, and she knew from experience that both Draco and Kiron would hear her if she tried to follow them.

* * *

"Hermione was listening to our conversation," Harry said idly as they made their way through the hallways of the Black Manor.

"Fucking eavesdropping bitch," Kiron groused.

"Hey, I thought you liked her," Harry protested. Kiron shrugged.

"That was before I got the full story of what she did to you. And you know, she doesn't regret what she said, only that it made Draco take you away."

"Then why do you still flirt with her?"

"Because it confuses her. And her reaction pisses her boyfriend off."

"Yeah, he spends more time playing chess on the floor with you than he does with her now," Draco interjected.

"And she buries herself in books trying to avoid both of us," Kiron said disgustedly.

"You're just mad because she almost found out," Harry laughed. Kiron snorted, but didn't deny the accusation, which from him was as good as an agreement. Kiron cordially hated his vampirism, because it made him dependent on others. He refused to be the horror story monster who took without permission, but that meant that he was dependent on those willing to Feed him. He dropped to his knees on the hearth, staring into the fire, and Harry moved to curl in his lap, tilting his head to bare his neck, resting his head on Kiron's shoulder. Kiron shuddered slightly before sinking his teeth into the offered flesh. Harry gasped, but didn't move. Slowly, Kiron began to suck, drawing the blood through his hollow fangs. Draco stood a little ways to the side, watching cautiously, a medium-sized potions vial in one hand.

"Enough, Kiron," he said suddenly when Harry's eyes involuntarily slipped closed, dizziness from the sudden lack of blood overwhelming him. Instantly Kiron pulled away and Draco pushed the opened vial into Harry's hand, guiding it to his lips. Harry sighed when he'd gotten it down, and slowly color returned to his face. Draco helped him up carefully, since he looked dizzy, and tucked him into bed, only pulling off the soft house shoes Harry was wearing before he flipped the blankets over him. "Sleep Harry. You'll feel fine in the morning." Harry nodded and rolled onto his side, clutching an extra pillow to his chest. Draco stood there and watched as Harry fell asleep, then turned back to Kiron. "Do you need more, Kie?" he asked.

"I'll be ok," Kiron answered sturdily. Draco frowned.

"That's not what I asked. I know you'll be ok, I asked if you needed more. You're a big man, Kie. There's nothing wrong with needing more to sustain you." Kiron sighed, and Draco stepped forwards, placing Kiron's hands on his shoulders. "Go ahead, Kie. Take it." After a moment, Kiron's fangs fiercely pierced Draco's neck. He stepped away after a few minutes, and Draco looked at him questioningly, lightheaded, but nowhere near as affected as Harry had been.

"I'm full," Kiron murmured in reply. "My thanks to you both." Draco nodded as he slipped from the room. Smiling softly, he stripped quickly and slid into bed with Harry, who turned to snuggle against him, absently tossing the pillow away.

* * *

Kiron slipped into the library, frowning absently. Harry and Draco were good friends, but he still hated having to depend on them for his sustenance. He sat in a chair in front of the fire, staring absently into the flames.

"Don't you ever sleep?" A strident voice jarred him from his thoughts. He looked up at Hermione, shrugging lightly.

"Not often," he replied casually.

"Insomnia?" she asked, a note of concern in her voice now. He shrugged again.

"Just don't need to." It was the honest truth. Since his turning, he hadn't needed more than an hour of sleep in a twenty-four hour period. She sighed.

"Look, whatever I've done to offend you, I'm sorry, alright?" she said impatiently. He snorted.

"How do you know that you're sorry? You don't even know what you've done." She sighed again.

"I'm sorry that I've done something that so obviously offends you," she offered. He shook his head.

"You're sorry because you've offended me, but you still make no effort to even find out what you've done, much less make it right," Kiron said in disgust. He stood, shaking his head. "No, Hermione, I don't believe your apology, nor do I accept it. Figure out what you're apologizing for first." He strode away, leaving her standing forlornly before the fire.

* * *

Draco was hovering on the edge of sleep, murmuring in pleasure as Harry sucked him, gently preparing him at the same time. His eyes flew open as Harry sheathed himself inside Draco's body in one smooth motion. Harry smirked at him.

"Thought I was dreaming," he murmured.

"Definitely not a dream," Harry said as he began to move in earnest. He placed a soft kiss to Draco's lips, and Draco tried to raise his hands to cup Harry's head and deepen the kiss, only to find that Harry had somehow bound his hands to the headboard without waking him. Harry's smirk deepened at Draco's frustrated growl.

"Kiss me already, you bloody bastard!" Draco growled at him. Harry's eyes sparkled mischievously.

"Bastard? Do you want me to be a bastard, love?" he asked, moving to suck lightly down Draco's neck before biting down on his pectoral sharply. Draco cried out. He jerked against his bonds as Harry's teeth closed around his nipple roughly. His strokes became harder, rougher, and he had to hold Draco's hips to keep from pushing him up the bed. Draco braced his arms against the headboard, using what little leverage he had to meet Harry's strokes eagerly. Harry's fingers brushed over where Kiron had bit him yesterday, noting that the marks, though faded, were still clearly visible if you knew what to look for. Harry growled under his breath. Draco was his, he didn't want Kiron's marks on him. He latched his teeth over the faint points, biting down and sucking strongly. Draco cried out as the added stimulation brought him over the edge. Harry moaned as Draco's body clenched around him, drawing his climax from him as well.

"Well, that's one way to hide the bite," Draco said after a few moments of silent panting. Harry slid his face from Draco's neck to bite his ear sharply, not feeling like talking yet. "Harry, untie my arms," Draco commanded gently, wanting to hold him. It was Saturday, and they hadn't been getting much done anyway, so he fully planned to spend the day in bed with his beau. Harry shook his head, shifting his weight, making Draco gasp as Harry slid inside him deeper. Draco frowned. "Harry, please free my arms."

"No, don't want to. Mine," Harry grumbled in a growling voice. Draco sighed heavily, moving to wrap his legs around Harry's, since he couldn't do anything else. He didn't say anything more, turning his head to rest his cheek on Harry's hair. Harry was gently licking his throat and jaw.

"What, is this some sort of delayed reaction from last night?" Draco asked curiously. Harry shrugged, moving in to kiss him. His fingers brushed over the now bruised bite on Draco's neck.

"Mine, not his," he murmured when he pulled away. Draco rolled his eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said facetiously. "Kiron's not a threat to you and you know it, love." Harry just shrugged again and snuggled against him. Draco sighed softly. "This would be much more comfortable if I could hold you, too, don't you think?" Draco wheedled. Harry snorted in slight irritation, but released Draco's wrists from the bedframe. Draco wrapped his arms around Harry, holding him tightly against his body. "Thank you, love," he murmured, not totally sure where Harry's sudden need for dominance had come from, but willing to oblige it- to a point.


End file.
